


a new ending is a different beginning

by _helios (neocitz)



Series: shitty superhero au [3]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Gen, M/M, Trope-Typical Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-10
Updated: 2019-02-12
Packaged: 2019-02-12 23:53:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 59,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12971163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neocitz/pseuds/_helios
Summary: Six months ago, Donghyuck and Jaemin didn’t have a secret between them.Then Donghyuck fell headfirst into the world of superheroes and vigilantes. Training under Taeyong taught him how to defend himself, how to protect those more vulnerable than him. Donghyuck signed up because he wanted to do the right thing.Jaemin, conversely, decided on what is most commonly described as villainy.Donghyuck tries his best to deal with the upward path of Jaemin’s apparent redemption, prepared for the very worse from someone he once thought was the very best. But between Jaemin, a new co-sidekick taking up all of Taeyong’s time and a soft spoken weapons dealer, Donghyuck finds himself buckling under the pressure.Not to mention the usual fare of criminals threatening Seoul.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I don't want to get too long-winded so forgive the short explanation: if you haven't seen my twitter, then you probably wouldn't know but about a month ago I decided to start editing this fic for a multitude of reasons. That edit has turned into a full rewrite and it's time I get the first chapter off my chest. I'm honestly not sorry to anyone who might be upset by this, these changes were made for a reason and I think they've paid off. I am thankful to every single person who read, kudos'd and commented the pre-edit version of this fic and hope that you still enjoy it as it is now. 
> 
> This chapter is a combination of the previous chapters one and two, and some new content. 
> 
> looked over by Nini, who is an absolute gem for encouraging me though this.
> 
> title from nct dream's my page

When he still lived in the dormitories on campus, Donghyuck would wake up ten minutes before he was due in the classroom. There’s an art to getting to class on time, and it involved rolling out of bed and into his uniform, then tripping over discarded clothes to get out the door. It’s one of the many skills that he developed over the years at a boarding student at his high school. (Another is hiding convenience store snack from the sharp, discerning nose of one Lee Jeno.)

His friends aren’t much better.

Now that he lives with Taeyong, he makes it into the classroom with a good ten minutes to spare (thank you bus driver). He fully expects Jeno and Renjun to rush in last minute, with babbling apologies and uncombed hair, just before their teacher starts the class. Just like they have every day since the start of the year.

He gets his desk set up, phone hidden away in the corner under some loose sheets of paper and burner phone from Taeyong stuck in his sock. Donghyuck owns exactly one pen and one pencil, both chewed up beyond belief, and he places them at the top of the desk to make sure that he doesn’t lose them. Setting his desk up is a luxury he’s never had before moving in with Taeyong, but he finds that he appreciates the moments to settle and get ready for the day.

It’s two minutes until the first bell rings, and Donghyuck can practically count it down on his fingers. He doesn’t have to look at the sliding door by the back of the classroom to know that Jeno is the one that flings it open, and Renjun is the one to gasp out a we made it. He can hear the thud of a bag hitting the floor two rows behind him – Jeno sliding in next to Hyunjin – and the squeak of shoes against the floor as Renjun turns to walk down the aisle along the window. Then he hears the drag of fingers on tables, soft and light, and the screech of the chair behind him being pulled back.

Donghyuck spins in his seat.

Jaemin grins at him, combing his fingers through his hair as he unpacks his bag. Despite the windswept hair and the heavy pants of someone who just ran across campus, Jaemin is far more put together than Jeno (who’s rebuttoning his shirt with droopy eyes). He drops his bag on the floor, kicking it under the desk like he never left it abandoned for three months. ‘Hey Hyuck.’ He wanders around the table and presses a smacking kiss to Donghyuck’s cheek. ‘Did you miss me?’

‘Hey,’ Donghyuck swallows, ‘Nana.’

Donghyuck forces a smile and laugh onto his face.

It’s been two weeks since the night he found out that Jaemin was The Almighty. Two weeks since the robot that terrorised Seoul was revealed to be under the control of a bored seventeen-year-old boy. In those two weeks, Donghyuck’s been preparing for this with the help of Taeil and Taeyong. Their decision for Jaemin to attend classes was final, and Donghyuck was to observe and assess whether he was a danger to the general population.

He’s been waiting for Jaemin to return to school for almost the entire time, stomach heaving and shaking at the thought of who his best friend is. Because he doesn’t really know, not any more. He thought he was ready, but now that Jaemin is in front of him, he wishes he had more time.

‘The crew is finally back together,’ Jeno crows. ‘Hyuck, bro, it would have been so good if you were here over the weekend!’

Jeno’s grin stretches his face into that ridiculous smile of his. He’s got an arm slung around Jaemin’s shoulder, having attached himself to Jaemin as soon as class finished. Donghyuck’s tucked into their little huddle, head tipped up in a smile that’s too bright, too broad and too transparent. No-one seems to notice though, because they’re all talking over each other.  Renjun and Chenle trail behind, and Jeno reaches behind to drag them in closer. It almost feels like the start of the year.

They’ve never had a secret between them, not in the months and years that they’ve grown together as a group of friends.

Things are different now.

‘It feels good to be back,’ Jaemin says, pulling his arms around Donghyuck and Jeno’s shoulders tight. It locks them in close, the original terrible three causing trouble and mischief. Donghyuck’s breath stutters in his throat for a moment, before he tucks an arm around Jaemin’s waist.  ‘I never thought I’d actually miss school. I got so bored, doing nothing.’

 Donghyuck forces his shoulders to relax, but he can’t help biting out a spiteful ‘I’m sure you did.’

Jaemin doesn’t notice the venom is Donghyuck’s tone.

Donghyuck ignores the little glance that Renjun sends his way, forcing a smile back on his face. Jeno and Jaemin are too caught up in each other to notice, and Chenle’s tapping away on his phone, but Renjun’s always been the more observant one of the group. He refuses to look at Renjun, instead feigning interest as Jaemin tells them all about the homework his mum made him do instead.

Inside, though, his stomach twists tighter together at the word bored. Jaemin had claimed it as an excuse, helpless and afraid when faced with the full panel of the hyungs. It had been weak then, scoffed at with disbelief, but in a group of teenage boys it’s fine and no-one’s going to know any better. Nothing can excuse property damage, creating terror and general rampaging through Seoul as a giant robot and yet Jaemin tried.

Donghyuck knows what Jaemin’s like as a person. He wouldn’t be surprised if the wide-eyed innocence that he directed at the hyungs is a lie. It’s the same spiel, of trembling lip and shaking hands, that Jaemin uses to get out of trouble at school. Jaemin is pretty and sweet, and more than that he knows how to talk. Donghyuck, three weeks ago, would have said that Jaemin’s the sneakiest person he knows with pride.

Now he thinks it and fears it.

‘What’s been up with you, Hyuck?’ Jaemin asks, turning that disarming smile to meet Donghyuck’s gaze. ‘I got to catch up with everyone over the weekend except you. Where were you, anyway?’

‘I’ve moved off-campus.’ Donghyuck’s words sit at the front of his tongue, tripping off and out of his mouth with a levity he didn’t know he possessed. He’s gotten good at faking it, thanks to months of chasing after Taeyong as a sidekick, but this is different. He must mean it, he can’t cover up being weird around Jaemin with a shallow excuse that Jeno and Renjun will overlook and laugh at. ‘My cousin invited me to live with him.’

‘You mean no more movie night?’ Jaemin has the audacity to look upset about that. As if he wasn’t the one who decided to abandon movie-and-cuddle night and become a supervillain.

‘No more movie night,’ Donghyuck shrugs.

‘What the hell?’ Jeno pulls away, betrayed. ‘You guys had movie night? Why wasn’t I invited?’

‘Because you fall asleep and snore,’ Renjun bristles as he says it. Donghyuck’s laughter doesn’t feel fake for the first time all day, bubbling out at the truth of Renjun’s words. ‘All the time, Jeno. It’s why I have noise-cancelling earphones.’

‘Injunnie,’ Jeno whines and he pulls away from Jaemin and Donghyuck to wrap himself around Renjun from behind. ‘I thought you said you weren’t mad about the snoring.’

‘Gross,’ Chenle giggles.

‘When did that happen?’ Jaemin mouths at Donghyuck, pointing to a frustrated Renjun trying to break out of Jeno’s much stronger grasp. Jeno’s rocking the back and forth as they walk forward, and Donghyuck reckons he’s a hot minute from getting an elbow to the stomach.  

‘Like, ages ago?’

This is their normal now, Donghyuck and Chenle rolling their eyes as Jeno and Renjun do sappy couple things. Even though Jaemin slipped back into the group as if he never left, Donghyuck can see the gaps between the them that Jaemin knows, and the them that Donghyuck knows.

It shouldn’t make him feel vindicated, but it does. Donghyuck can’t help the quick wave of glee, relief and rightness that Jaemin doesn’t fit anymore.

‘Cute,’ Jaemin grins and he pulls Donghyuck closer in under his arm. Donghyuck squirms away, masking it with playful giggling when really having all of Jaemin’s attention on him at once is overwhelming. He can’t read him yet, can’t see the difference between the boy who left and the boy who has returned. Has Jaemin always been hiding behind a mask, pretending that he’s ordinary and kind and only a bit wicked? ‘But seriously, movie night?’

‘It’s cheaper,’ Donghyuck flusters. ‘My parents wanted me to do it.’

‘Also, he fell out of bed like an idiot and no-one trusted him alone,’ Jeno says, looking up from where his head was previously buried in Renjun’s hair. ‘We almost made Chenle sleep in your bed, just to make sure that it didn’t happen again.’

‘He got a concussion,’ Renjun corrects, turning around to face Jaemin. Donghyuck whines, a complaint of the others not caring enough cutting through the description of his “accident”. ‘And we thought that Chenle might be a bit too … excitable post-concussion.’

Chenle isn’t even offended.

‘Still fell out of the bed like an idiot.’

‘Can’t deny that,’ Renjun laughs and Donghyuck yells an _oi_ at him, earning a glare from a senior nearby.

It feels normal again, the world tilting back to what they used to be as a group and Donghyuck wishes he could just run. Back to Taeyong who could assure him that life is difficult and full of double-bluffs and tell him that he just has to look past this ordinary façade and see the lies beneath everything.

‘I could have looked after you,’ Jaemin says, and it’s so kind and yet amused that it shakes Donghyuck out of his confusion. He can’t let himself get drawn in by Jaemin, can’t let himself get tricked by his persona of kindness and understanding. But he can play the same game, right back at Jaemin.

‘Sure,’ Donghyuck rolls his eyes. ‘Just like you did with that houseplant you insisted we keep in March.’

‘Incoming,’ Renjun says, before Jaemin can bite back a retort. Donghyuck turns to see Mark crossing the lawn to meet them, jogging over with that awkward little grin of his. Even though they probably saw him that morning, the others are quick to greet him with grins. This, Donghyuck realises, is them as they’re meant to be. Teenagers taking a break from class and joking around, gossiping. And yet he can’t bring himself to join in on it all.

It’s just that he’s changed, he’s so different from them now.

‘Yo kids,’ Mark calls as he unties his tie a little bit, ‘Sorry I’m late!’

‘Student council stuff?’ Jeno asks.

They settle down on the grass even though it’s clearly starting to get too cold for them to do so. Donghyuck ends up with Chenle pressed against one side and pulls him in closer. The things they do to avoid the general population of the school.

‘Yeah, we’re trying to organise the end of year festival,’ Mark says pulling out his lunch and laying it on his lap. ‘We’ve got so much stuff to do, it’s ridiculous!’

‘That’s what you get for choosing to be a responsible, contributing member of the school community,’ Jaemin snarks with a grin.

Donghyuck flinches back in surprise, and he feels Chenle’s head tilt up to look at him. He runs a soothing hand over the youngest boy’s side, apologising for the shock, but he can’t help it. They’re being obvious, and he can see that it’s still new to Jeno and Renjun from the way they exchange a quick glance.

In the years that they’d known him, Jeno had always been the one closer to Mark. He’d been friendly and kind but that bit awkward around the louder voices that were Jaemin and Donghyuck. Donghyuck’s never really felt the need to get to know Mark better, content to let him be this untouchable sweet boy that doesn’t belong in Donghyuck’s world.

But their worlds are starting to crash together and Donghyuck doesn’t know how he’s supposed to handle it.

‘Good to have you back,’ Mark says, reaching over to fist bump Jaemin. ‘It’s been weird not having you around.’

Jaemin’s smirking, and Mark’s smile is dancing with amusement as they greet each other and Donghyuck realises with a kind of sick emptiness in his stomach that they’re enjoying this.

Donghyuck had hoped, that night when they finally unmasked Jaemin as a wannabe supervillain, that they’d be awkward and serious and everything that Mark ordinarily is. But the little exchanges, the way that they hold each other’s gaze for a second longer than usual? It makes it look like they’re sharing something fun and glamourous and Donghyuck wishes they had more respect for the rest of their friends by being serious.   

Instead, they’re enjoying sharing a secret that is theirs and theirs alone. One that Jeno, Renjun, Chenle, Donghyuck, aren’t supposed to know.

Except he does.

And he certainly feels that guilt, keeping his identity as a sidekick from them. But Donghyuck also feels sick to his stomach that people he used to consider friends see it as something funny, or a game.

With them sharing this moment in front of him, this secret, Donghyuck can’t breathe. He can’t pretend he’s mad anymore, because more than that he’s hurt and confused. He wants to tell them his secrets, and yet he doesn’t trust them anymore.

It should be noted that Taeyong is Donghyuck’s put together mentor hero, and that he’s not Taeyong. Not at all. Instead of dealing with it the way that Taeyong would have been able to, Donghyuck utilises all his glory and grace, and makes a subtle escape.

 ‘Oh, would you look at that? I totally forgot I had a meeting with my Chinese teacher, I need to go chat to him about getting a tutor,’ Donghyuck babbles, shoving his food into a triumphant, but confused Chenle’s hands. The last thing he hears (as he essentially bolts at full speed towards the school) is a confused _I’m Chinese? I can literally tutor you?_ from Renjun.

‘Hyuck, are you staying after school today?’ Jeno asks over the rising murmur of students, all keen to go home after a long day in the classroom. ‘It’s Jaemin’s first day back, you gotta!’

‘I can’t,’ he says, shoving papers into his bag without much thought. ‘My buses are being detoured and I can’t risk it after dark!’

‘Seriously?’ Jaemin whines.

‘Yeah, I promise I’ll hang around tomorrow or something,’ he lies. ‘I’ve got to go, like now!’

He rushes out before they can stop him, waving a goodbye at Renjun and shouting something at Chenle as he goes by his classroom. He needs to get away, because Jaemin had been so normal in the classroom and he needs to readjust his head so that everything makes sense again. He needs to talk to someone, filter his thoughts and order them so he doesn’t feel like he’s floating adrift in a mess that isn’t his.

He completely bypasses the bus stop and makes his way towards the train station. Even though Taeyong has told him multiple times to come and goes as he pleases, Donghyuck still feels a little weird when he’s alone in the apartment. It’s not really … his space.

He takes the two trains and short walk from his school to Taeil’s café.

The first few times he trailed behind Taeyong into the café it had been ordinary at first glance. The thing that made it special were the handful of people who frequented it. Clean tiles, metal tables and metal chairs had faded into the background in favour of talking to Yuta about what Taeyong was like as a teenager, sneaking Doyoung’s cakes behind his back and begging homework answers off whoever was available to help at the time.

Then the café had been smashed up by a destructive, Jaemin-controlled robot and singed by Donghyuck’s favourite, but confiscated, ray gun. (Unlike Jaemin, however, Donghyuck’s part in the damage to the café was entirely accidental and not out of malice.)

‘How was school?’ Taeyong asks as Donghyuck slides onto the table next to him.  ‘Did you speak to your Chinese teacher?’

‘Yeah, it was all right.’ Donghyuck shrugs.

‘What did she say?’

‘The usual, I need to practice speaking it, there’s no use for me to just learn how to read and write because speaking is going to be at least 30% of my mark.’

‘It’s true though,’ Jaehyun chimes in, unhelpfully, because Donghyuck doesn’t want to practice speaking it aloud. ‘My English was shit until I practiced reading aloud every day. It was a pain in the arse, but really useful in the end.’

‘I know, but like,’ Donghyuck gives an embarrassed shrug. ‘It’s hard speaking Chinese, and it’s even harder in class in front of everyone.’

It’s easy to talk about this, simple problems and Donghyuck’s going to give himself a moment to pretend that Na Jaemin doesn’t exist. He slumps over, folding his hands beneath his head and allows himself to whine for a moment or two.

Taeyong runs a careful hand through Donghyuck’s hair. ‘You don’t have to worry so much, we’ll work a way around it or something.’

‘But I don’t want to,’ Donghyuck turns imploring eyes up at Taeyong.

Taeyong laughs, covering his mouth with his hand as he shakes his head. ‘You’re going to have to do something to practice it.’

‘Sicheng can help you with Chinese.’ Jaehyun points to the older man standing behind the counter, playing with the coffee machine. The look that Sicheng levels him is almost clearly a no-way, but Donghyuck can’t blame him.

Really, Sicheng wants to earn money, get his degree and live a stress-free life. Having superhero friends (or rather, co-workers) wasn’t a part of the deal, and tutoring Donghyuck in Chinese definitely isn’t either.

‘It’s okay, I’ll work something out. There are a couple of kids at school who run a conversation class, I can probably join that.’

‘Sounds like a good plan,’ Taeyong says with a nod. ‘It’s best to evaluate your options and opportunities. Don’t forget that you don’t have to rush into this.’

‘Thanks, hyung.’ Donghyuck tucks his face down a little bit to hide the small smile on his face. This side of Taeyong’s still a little bit new to him, still a surprise after months of distance that slowly faded into the familiarity and trust between them now.

 ‘How was your lunch? I didn’t put too much salt in it did I?’

Donghyuck doesn’t speak for a moment, still looking down at the table. If he looks up, he might see Taeyong’s smiling expression freeze and melt into genuine worry that his food was not up to par. He might hear Doyoung’s snicker of amusement, and the sound of Johnny choking on laughter.

‘It was fine,’ he says. Taeyong still doesn’t look settled, because evidently fine isn’t enough for him. ‘I really liked it, thanks.’

He sits there for a moment, mouth half open and Taeyong must catch on because he sits up straight. A thin hand works around his, squeezing lightly and Donghyuck sucks in a deep slow breath before saying what he knows he needs to say.

 ‘Jaemin turned up at school today.’

The whole room (bar an uninterested Sicheng who is tinkering with the new coffee machine) turns to face him at his words, their words petering out. The amusement in their eyes has faded, and Donghyuck realises that this is perhaps the first time they have been so silent around him. They usually bite at each other, talk over each other, maintain that balance of being awful to each other and loving each other.

It’s intimidating, facing the hyungs like this.

All of them are here, a rare coming together of the entire group, and all of their attention are fixed on him.

Taeil steps around from behind the counter, one of the rare times he’s actually working on something other than paperwork and settles into a seat opposite to Donghyuck. He reaches into somewhere, hand ripping a hole in the very fabric of reality and draws out a notebook.

‘Anything to report?’ Taeil asks, his quiet voice kind but serious. 

Taeyong’s hand squeezes once again, and Donghyuck looks up to the older boy. Taeyong’s dark eyes settle on his, soft and familiar in the surroundings of all these men that only show one part of themselves to him.

‘Not really? He’s … normal?’

It’s such a weak term for him to use, unable to encapsulate the oddity that is watching Jaemin interact with everyone around him. Everyone seems to have an idea of what he means, because a low murmur of agreement works across the room.

‘Normal can either be good or bad,’ Taeil hums, and his pen is flying across the paper in quick but neat lines. ‘What do you mean by that?’

‘He just … went around the whole day, as if he never left,’ he explains. ‘Attended classes, joked around with our friends, it was just an ordinary day? It’s like he never did anything? I just don’t get it.’

‘So, he’s fitting in?’ Johnny supplies. ‘He’s better at hiding his personality than we thought.’

‘He’s always been a good actor. It’s that smile of his … it tricks everyone.’ Donghyuck scowls, as if he hasn’t used that smile to his advantage when he’s been in a bind.

‘How about Mark?’ Johnny asks.

Donghyuck is so used to the light-hearted, friendly Johnny that he can't speak to the ice cold, serious man in front of him. The way that he holds himself, shoulders rolled back and brow drawn serious, makes Donghyuck realise that this is Dul.

He forgets, sometimes, that he's in front of one of the strongest men on earth.

'They're friendly, a bit too much really,' Donghyuck winces as he says it. He sounds bitter and it's not going to come across well to the older members of the team, even as Taeil notes it down with a nod.

'How?'

'They were never close, before Jaemin left,' Donghyuck confesses. 'Mark was always Renjun and Jeno's friends, he wasn't really ours. I don't know if the others will think anything suspicious of it, but it's the only thing that's really different.'

'What do you make of that?'

It feels a bit like an interrogation, except with people he’s seen fall into garbage dumpsters.  He knows that they're trying to be encouraging, make him feel more comfortable about reporting to them about his friends.

He feels like a raw nerve, poked and prodded by the men in front of him.

To think that this is barely the start of it all.

He can’t help but wonder if this is what he’s going to be like for the rest of his life. Questioning those around him, questioning himself, and looking for motives and nastiness that he’s not used to seeking out.

'I'm not sure. I think Mark's making an effort to ensure that Jaemin's feeling comfortable in being back at school again, but it's almost too much?'

'We'll have to keep an eye on that,' Johnny says to Yuta. Donghyuck feels like he shouldn't overhear it, like they're talking about something else that he's not meant to be privy to, and he clasps his hands in his lap as he waits.

'Haechan,' Yuta says and he wanders over to crouch down in front of Donghyuck. 'Jaemin has been assessed by myself and Taeil, you know that right? We wouldn't let him in the field or back at school unless we were sure that we have enough control over the situation.'

'Yeah, I do,' Donghyuck nods.

'That being said, we're in an unprecedented position with this. He's your best friend, you know him better than almost anyone.'

Taeyong's hand has shifted back to rest gently against Donghyuck's back and he presses against it. It's steady and firm and Donghyuck exhales as he nods at Yuta.

'I understand.'

‘Keep an eye on him when you can,’ Taeil says, voice steady. ‘You don’t have to report to us all the time, just when you think there’s something unusual going on. We need to keep an eye on him, especially in these early days, we just have to wait for him to reveal his hand.’

 

 

'Three jumps, that wall,' Taeyong grins, toothy and wide and _free_. He's pointing at a sheer brick wall in front of Donghyuck, and Donghyuck readjusts the fit of his mask before running at the wall at full speed.

He doesn't break the momentum of the jump, hands curling around the jutting bricks and ledges that make the surface uneven. Still, he needs an additional jump to reach the edge of it and pull himself over.

'So close,' Taeyong laughs and he propels himself forward. He starts higher than Donghyuck did, and arches over roof in a graceful arch. 'You missed the drain-pipe, it would have been the best way to get up the wall.'

'Got it,' Donghyuck says, brushing his hands against his knees.

He still doesn't quite get this version of Taeyong, who is friendly and open and not pissed off at him. He's not going to argue, not at all, but he is still that bit taken aback by the fact that things are so much easier between them now.

Taeyong still mutters under his breath, about reckless teenagers who don't pay attention to their surroundings, but he does it with a smile and it's almost fond.

'Don't copy me,' Taeyong warns, and then he runs across the roof to throw himself off it. Donghyuck manages to catch the end of the jump, as Taeyong breaks it with a roll over his shoulders.

Taeyong still isn’t confident that Donghyuck falls properly, and Donghyuck's not going to argue.

Instead he slides down the side of the roof, elbows slowing his descent. The final drop is short, one that Donghyuck can take with the bend of his knees, and he looks up at Taeyong who looks (dare he say it) proud.

In time, Donghyuck knows he'll be able to throw himself through the air with the grace that Taeyong does.

'What's the plan for tonight?' Donghyuck asks, proud of the fact that he isn't panting _at all_.

Taeyong’s smile lifts at the corner, adding that edge that is sharp and bright. He doesn’t say anything, just laughs and turns on his heel. His lithe figure leaps off the side of the building again, this time lacking the deliberate movements of demonstration. There’s intent and speed, and that little edge of playfulness to it.

Donghyuck can’t help the anticipation curling in his stomach, and he takes off after Taeyong into the night.

 

 

Taeyong pauses for a moment, before tossing something at Donghyuck. He catches it easily, despite the heft weight of the item, and it takes Donghyuck exactly two seconds to work out what is in his hands.

‘You’re letting me use the boomerangs?’

He’s always wanted to use the boomerangs, but his aim is _not good enough_. Or it had been. Taeyong’s still smiling, but it’s more that nervous one that he gets when he realises that the washing machine might blow up if they use it, but they don’t have time to go to the laundromat.

‘Consider this a trial,’ Taeyong warns, that ever-present judgement in his voice. Donghyuck rolls his eyes. Here comes the spiel about how he has to be aware of his surroundings and that if it doesn’t go to plan, they’re going to dedicate training time to it.

Which isn’t so bad, really. It’s bound to be more fun than the time Taeyong tied him to a chair and told him to work out how to get out of it. Donghyuck _knows_ that the best way to get out of a situation like that is to just break the chair, but he’s not going to risk his back just for some lousy training.

‘I’ll be on my best behaviour,’ he says, saccharine sweet just because he knows it’ll get Taeyong to shut up.

It does, because Taeyong rolls his eyes and lets out a sigh. Donghyuck barely resists laughing, because it is so easy to work Taeyong up. If he’s lucky, he might even be able to comment on the bad guy’s monologue today and turn it into a whole _don’t engage with the bad guys_ thing again.

(He knows better, but still it’s funny to see Taeyong get frustrated sometimes.)

‘How’d you find this guy, anyway?’ Donghyuck says, tucking the boomerangs into his (mostly empty) utility belt. He’s almost ready, mask in place and protective gear strapped tight around his body. All that they’re waiting is for the bad guy to appear.

‘Hansol’s been tracking him for a few days,’ Taeyong says, pulling the beanie lower over his hair to disguise the bright blonde colour. ‘He’ll come up on our radar for a few days and then disappear for months.’

‘Who is he?’ Donghyuck’s voice lowers as he crouches in position

‘We’re not sure,’ Taeyong turns to Donghyuck with a small curl of his lips. ‘We don’t know anything about him. We’re pretty much running off a hunch, at this point.’

‘Is it safe for us to be doing this?’ Donghyuck asks, and Taeyong actually looks impressed at his question.

‘Not really, but this is the only chance we have.’

Donghyuck nods, swallowing down the worry and forcing a smile on his face. The crunch of tires over the dirt echoes around them, and he looks down to see a large white van rounding the corner. It’s not like they have a choice anyway.

Taeyong and Donghyuck watch as the van slows to a stop.  

He can see Taeyong already reaching into his belt, drawing out the small smoke pellets that he favours. Donghyuck pulls out a face-mask, pulling it over his mouth to filter out the smoke particles. He pulls out the boomerangs again from his belt, curling his fingers around them in preparation, but doesn’t move.

Four men step out of the van, all dressed _too_ well.

They’re tall, with suits and overcoats that shield them against the dropping temperatures of the night. There’s the hint of an undercut, and a flash of too-bright hair that gives away the fact that they’re not _ordinary_ and Donghyuck can’t help leaning slightly to see closer.

They open the back of the van, and there’s a screech as they drag something out of the back of it.

Their leader appears to be a man with platinum hair, guiding the other three men as they begin to roll a large trolley along the ground. There is a plethora of plants spread over it, bright flowers standing out in the dim light of the warehouse they’re parked inside.

Taeyong hisses, and Donghyuck spares him a single look in question.

‘Those are specially bred,’ Taeyong says as he stands up, rolling his shoulders with a careful gaze in his eye. ‘They’re harmless as long as you don’t eat them. If you do, they’re incredibly toxic.’

Donghyuck nods and tightens his facemask.

Taeyong stretches his neck one last time, a quick move from side to side. Then he tosses the smoke pellets and jumps down from their perch on the rafters. Donghyuck lets out a laugh, lets it echo around the room, before tossing the boomerangs through the air.

He hears a curse, as the boomerangs slice through the straps on the trolley and things roll everywhere, and smirks beneath his mask before jumping down. He doesn’t do a Taeyong, doesn’t jump straight into the fray, but lands on the van before propelling himself down again and hits one of the men straight in the chest.

The man stumbles back, catching himself on the side of the trolley. He’s the delicate kind of pretty that Jaemin and Renjun are, but Donghyuck knows better than to let that trick him. He’s already rushing forward, grabbing a fallen boomerang to use as a weapon.

All these men are taller than him, so he’s going to have to rely on as much of his speed as he can once the smoke clears.

The man defends on instinct, arms up in a guard as Donghyuck slashes forward with the boomerang. It draws blood, and Donghyuck gets a moment of satisfaction before the man’s long leg kicks out and he’s thrown to the side.

Donghyuck rolls out of it, and straight back into the man. He stays low in the smoke, and drives his elbow into the man’s stomach, using the full momentum that he’s able to get to slam the man back into the van.

‘What are you doing here, kid?’ the man says, voice surprisingly high but rasping. The words aren’t malicious, level and calm as he fixed Donghyuck with a steady gaze.

‘Stopping you,’ Donghyuck rolls his shoulders back before darting forward again.

He can see out of the corner of his eyes, Taeyong fighting two of the other men with his escrima sticks. Donghyuck knows he can’t waste his time on watching, and he spins into a low kick to trip the man.

The first thing Taeyong did when he took over Donghyuck’s limited martial arts training was teach Donghyuck the main weaknesses of a human body to exploit. There’s no use focusing on what’s there, it’s more important to focus on what isn’t.

‘Stay out of this,’ the man warns, and it sounds serious. ‘You don’t know what you guys are getting into.’

‘We’re stopping you,’ Donghyuck says with as much bravado as he can muster.  The man he’s up against isn’t particularly muscular, nor is he particularly mean looking. That doesn’t stop him from knowing just how dangerous this situation is.

Donghyuck has a minute or so left before he loses the advantage of the speed he’s got, as the older man adjusts into a proper fighting stance. He leaps forward and up, using as much momentum from his jump as he can to drive his full body weight towards the man’s guard.

Joints are weak.

He grabs the man’s guard, clinging onto his arms to swing downwards and drives his foot into the man’s knee.

Donghyuck doesn’t even flinch when the leg breaks with a snap, and as the man crumples with a yell. He just rolls off before he puts anymore weight on the man’s body, biting out a _sorry_ before running over to help Taeyong.

He doesn’t get there.

He feels his toes leave the ground, breath caught in his throat as he is dragged up by the back of his shirt.

The fourth member of their crew, a man with black hair swept away from his face, adjusts his grip on Donghyuck’s torso to hold him by the neck. Donghyuck’s used to the chokehold of a mad best friend, but this is different and his fingers grapple to try and loosen it, to try and claw at the face behind him.

‘Oi, Hana!’ the man yells, turning to where Taeyong’s just knocked down both of his opponents. ‘Leave, or the kid gets it.’

Donghyuck can hardly see the shift in Taeyong’s face, with the masks that cover, but he sees the way Taeyong’s shoulder curl and tense.  He reaches up again one more time and can barely move his shoulders.

‘Put him down,’ Taeyong calls, dropping his escrima sticks to the ground. The sound echoes throughout the warehouse, and Donghyuck clenches his eyes shut for a moment before he drops his arms down.

‘Leave us, and don’t come back until we’re gone,’ the man continues. Donghyuck wriggles against his hold, biting back a curse. ‘You didn’t need to interfere.’

‘Just stop choking him, he’s a kid,’ Taeyong says, hands splayed and in front of him. He doesn’t look as harmless as the barista who can’t handle his friends teasing him, but he’s not the strong and firm Hana that most people are used to.

Donghyuck’s hand creeps forward and with as much strength as he can, he plunges the boomerang into the man’s thigh.

He drops to the ground as the man yells. His breath heaves through him, and he takes a moment to reorient himself before realising what the man is doing. He rushes forward, pressing his hands to where the man was trying to pull the blade out.

‘Don’t!’ Donghyuck says. ‘It’ll be worse if you pull it out.’

‘Yeolhana,’ Taeyong says, his voice soft but heavy with warning. Donghyuck nods, and he steps away when he’s sure that the man won’t pull the knife out. ‘Keep an eye on him while I call the police.’

‘No need,’ a voice rings out. ‘We’ve already done it.’

Donghyuck let out a little squeak of surprise because Yuta is grinning where he’s leaning against a table. He’s not alone, a pale Jaemin watching by his side, and Donghyuck straightens up automatically. He barely notices Johnny and Mark standing behind them, floating a few inches off the ground.

‘Let’s clean up this mess,’ Yuta sighs, waving a hand and resetting the plants in front of him. ‘I’m willing to bet that you boys _aren’t_ the leader of this little enterprise.’

‘They’re not,’ Taeyong says, voice steady as he picks his escrima sticks up again. He flicks them to reduce them to their smaller size, tucking them in his belt. ‘We’ll be able to find out who they are working for though.’

‘Good,’ Yuta says with a smile, crouching down to look at the least injured of the three men.  ‘We should get moving before the police show up. I’ll come to talk to you, when I can.’ His voice is light as he pulls away again.

Donghyuck rubs his neck lightly as they make their way back out into the night. Taeyong’s soothing hand rests on his back for a moment, dark eyes checking to make sure he’s okay, before they head off into the night.

 

 

‘Are you okay?’ Mark asks, once they pass the screaming sirens of the police cars that Hansol must have called. ‘That looked pretty nasty.’

‘I’m fine,’ Donghyuck says, even as his voice rasps out in an unfamiliar harshness. ‘I managed to get out before he’d been holding on too long.’

He still has the blood on his hands from the fight, and tugs on Taeyong’s sleeve. The man turns to see Donghyuck wiggling his fingers in front of him and lets out a low huff of a laugh. He reaches into his utility belt and pulls out a packet of wet ones. Donghyuck whispers a strained thank you, even as Jaemin lets out a low _what the hell?_

Donghyuck wipes the blood from his fingers, or as much as he can, as they troop their way down the street. There’s no sneaking around, no darting over rooftops when they’re like this. There’s too many people and the adrenaline has worn off, leaving Donghyuck limp and Taeyong exhausted.

Yuta’s supporting Taeyong, a careful arm around his waist, while Johnny takes most of Donghyuck’s weight. Jaemin and Mark are hovering between them, Mark so nervous he’s floating ever so slightly off the ground. Donghyuck can’t help his eyes flicking down and back up again. Jaemin’s staring resolutely ahead, still as pale as when Donghyuck first saw him in the warehouse.

Yuta and Taeyong are talking, low and quiet between and Donghyuck is too tired to try and listen. Instead, he just lets Johnny take most of his weight, and eventually is guided down into a seat outside a convenience store.

Someone presses a drink into his hand. Donghyuck takes a long sip of it, and realises that it was Jaemin who passed him the bottle.

‘Thanks,’ he forces a smile on his face. Mark and Jaemin settle in next to him, and it doesn’t take an idiot to realise that the adults are having a conversation without them. He turns back to the two boys in front of him, resting his head in his hand.

‘You guys haven’t met yet, have you?’ Mark’s smile is growing, now that they’re safe and away from the danger. ‘I mean, _properly_. Haechan, this is my friend Jaemin. Jaemin, this is Haechan.’

‘Nice to meet you,’ Jaemin says with a small wave even though he’s literally right in front of Donghyuck. He’s wearing a domino mask, and the way he twitches his nose makes Donghyuck think he’s not used to the new weight of it on his face.

‘Back at you,’ Donghyuck layers the trepidation and nerves beneath exhaustion. He didn’t think that he’d interact with Jaemin the sidekick, not yet, but it’s somehow easier than Jaemin the friend. Perhaps, he thinks, because he doesn’t have to pretend when he’s wearing his mask.

‘Haechan,’ Mark clears his throat, forcing more enthusiasm into his voice as he turns back to the other boy. ‘We’ve been thinking, Jaemin and I, that we should probably get to know each other a bit better.’

‘We’re all about the same age, presumably?’ Jaemin offers carefully. He’s got his hands clasped in front of him, and his shoulders curl in so carefully that Donghyuck almost doesn’t believe that this boy is his best friend. ‘We thought we could work together? Something like … a sidekick … club?’

Donghyuck can hear the regret in Jaemin’s voice as he says it, and if it were any other time he might have laughed.

‘A sidekick club? This is your great idea?’

‘I’m serious, the three of us can learn from each other and also just, well, destress,’ Mark offers. ‘I know how difficult it can be with the hyungs, it’s always work with them, isn’t it? There’s never any room to just, be people.’

‘Sure,’ Donghyuck coughs. His mind flashes to when Yuta showed him videos of the hyungs when they were in high school and thought it would be a good time to start a band. ‘It’s just patrolling and training with them, really.’

‘We could meet up every now and again, hang out on patrol, exchange training secrets and the like. It’ll be pretty cool, admit it,’ Mark continues. ‘Maybe even do something of our own?’

‘I’m not sure if that’s a good idea,’ Donghyuck says, even as he wants to say yes. It would be cool, to be able to _talk_ to someone his own age about this, talk to someone on the same level as him within this crazy world that he had gotten swept up with.

‘Why not?’

‘Because we’ve never needed to do this before? It’s been how many months and we’ve met outside of patrol like three times?’

‘But how great is it when we _actually_ hang out during patrol, usually,’ Mark says, leaning back and looking up. ‘You have to admit that’s really fun usually, when it’s the two of us and the hyungs. Now we just have one more.’

‘I don’t know though,’ Jaemin says after a moment. He starts out looking at Donghyuck but it doesn’t take long for his gaze to move to Mark and for his lips to curl into something more of a little smirk.  ‘Maybe he was just pretending that whole time and he hates hanging out with you.’

Mark splutters and shoves Jaemin lightly (although lightly for Mark is still with an incredible amount of super strength). ‘That’s not true, dude tell him it’s not true, Haechan.’

‘It might be a little true,’ Donghyuck says. He doesn’t know if the distance he feels as he watches Jaemin and Mark joke around is from the lies or the exhaustion.

He does know that the gap between _them_ and him is widening with every interaction that he’s forced to spend in their company.

‘Hah, he doesn’t actually like you,’ Jaemin laughs, and Donghyuck makes a half-hearted attempt to silence the other two boys as he looks over to the hyungs. His words fall short, unheard as Jaemin dodges a swat from Mark’s hand, and Donghyuck sighs. He tries not to think about how quickly it took for him to start feeling out of place with, well, everything.

‘I’ll consider joining your little sidekick club,’ Donghyuck says, already regretting it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> un-beta'd

‘It’s _way_ too cold for us to be doing this,’ Jeno huffs, wrapping his jacket closer around his shoulders. ‘Whose idea was it to go out today?’

‘Yours,’ Renjun and Jaemin chorus as they bounce on the spot. They share a small laugh and smile at that, although it doesn’t sit right on their faces because the wind is biting at all of them.

Donghyuck’s hands are stuffed deep into his coat, and his breath is visible.  He, at least, has the added body warmth of Chenle clinging to him and they huddle in close as _everyone_ glares at Mark.

‘I’m sorry, I’m _sorry_ ,’ he says, rifling through his pockets. ‘I need to make sure I have my wallet.’

‘You could have done that _inside_ ,’ Jaemin hisses, and it earns him a little wounded pout from Mark. ‘Just hurry up before we leave you here to freeze.’

Donghyuck knows, logically, that Mark can’t freeze thanks to his _special alien skin_ that makes him _invulnerable_. That doesn’t stop him from letting out a hiss of agreement as he presses in closer to Chenle.

‘Let’s just go,’ he whines, because he’s left his thermals at Taeyong’s lair and has had to settle for layers of jackets on top of jumpers to deal with the cold snap. ‘I don’t want to have to stay out here any longer than we need to.’

‘I’m…’ Mark trails off and pulls out his wallet with a whoop of excitement. ‘Found it, okay! Let’s go.’

‘Finally!’ Jaemin groans.

He rolls his eyes at Mark, and shoves past him in a deliberate show of annoyance. Donghyuck knows from experience that Jaemin’s going to end up with way more bruising than Mark is, and barely bites back the instinctive laughter that rises within him.

But then Jaemin latches onto Donghyuck’s free arm, wriggling in close, and he’s frogmarched between the two younger members of his friendship group. He can’t breathe in that moment, because this is so _normal_ and yet so abnormal, the six of them complaining about the weather and each other.

‘I’m already sick of the cafeteria food,’ Jaemin whispers, as if it’s a secret between the three of them. ‘I say we ditch the health boys and get some burgers and fries.’

‘We need to shake them,’ Chenle hisses from the other side of Donghyuck. ‘They’re not going to let us eat it and just complain about the food being too greasy.’

‘And if they do,’ Donghyuck forces the words and smile out, ‘they’ll just steal our fries.’

They all turn to look at where Renjun and Jeno are walking hand in hand, Mark laughing along with them. There’s no doubt, in Donghyuck’s mind, that Mark’s heard everything they’ve said but he makes a good show of pretending that he hasn’t.

‘I say, we distract Jeno with something romantic that he can pester Renjun with,’ Chenle shudders and Donghyuck can’t help agreeing.

‘What do you mean?’ Jaemin twists, still wrapped around Donghyuck’s arm, to look at the pair of them.

‘Jeno’s disgusting,’ Donghyuck shudders half from the cold and half from the awful, awful memories. ‘He buys flowers, and writes romantic sticky notes, and _woos_ Renjun. I swear I almost puked in class once.’

‘That’s adorable,’ Jaemin coos and he rests his head back on Donghyuck’s shoulder. ‘Keep it as far away from me as possible.’

It’s a throwback to the start of the year, and the year before that, Jaemin and Donghyuck so intertwined that some of their newer classmates wouldn’t know which boy was which. Donghyuck lets his cheek rest against Jaemin’s beanie covered head.

He lets himself pretend for a moment that Jaemin is the sweet, funny boy that he knows like the back of his hand.

They finally reaching the shopping centre, with windbitten cheeks and shaking limbs, and pour into the heated building with a relieved sigh. Donghyuck pulls himself away from Jaemin and shakes off his outer coat, tucking it into his backpack. He can’t help the relief that washes over him at being free, the way his chest automatically expands to suck in the air that he didn’t realise he was sorely missing.

‘Jeno,’ Chenle gasps and it’s overdrawn and dramatic enough that Renjun is automatically suspicious from the tilt of his brow. ‘Isn’t that the cafe that you wanted to try out?’

Jeno’s stamping feeling back into his toes and he looks up, bright eyes shifting to the store immediately.

‘Babe,’ Jeno spins to look at an already defeated Renjun. ‘We have to try it, please.’

‘We’re supposed to be hanging out with our friends,’ Renjun says.

‘We don’t mind, we can meet in like an hour and a bit and then hang out? Everyone probably wants different food, anyway,’ Jaemin adds, disarming smile on his face as he tries to wear Renjun down.

Jeno is nodding and smiling, fingers playing with Renjun’s and everyone can see the moment he gives up.

‘Fine,’ he says. ‘One hour and a half, back here?’

‘Deal,’ Donghyuck nods, even as he realises with a sick sort of feeling that he’s going to be alone with Jaemin and Chenle in a few minutes.

(He hopes, so dearly, that Chenle doesn’t decide to go off on his own. Donghyuck only has twenty thousand won to his name but he’s willing to use it if he has to.)

They’re left standing alone with Mark in the middle of the shopping centre. Donghyuck doesn’t know the first thing to say to him, outside of school and outside the field, and he turns to Chenle.

Luckily, Jaemin’s already on it and he’s sidling up to Mark, sneaky smile no having moved an inch.

‘Mark, don’t you have to ...’ Jaemin pauses just long enough for Donghyuck’s gaze to flick up under his fringe, ‘buy that thing we talked about?’

‘What?’ Mark stops, hands still tucked into his impossibly flimsy hoodie because he’s an idiot that doesn’t understand the meaning of blending in.

‘That thing,’ Jaemin raises an eyebrow, ‘for your dormitory.'

‘ _Oh_ , that!’ Mark coughs, and he nods. ‘I should, probably, yeah!’

Donghyuck only just resists letting out a groan, because it’s obvious that this is a sidekick thing. He doesn’t want to think too much about what Chenle must be thinking about the whole situation. There's a weird, awful tension between them and Donghyuck is so sure that it's all going to twist together and leave them shattered when it finally breaks.

'I'll catch you guys later,' Mark jogs backwards, and he doesn’t even attempt an apology before he's disappeared into the crowd. Donghyuck's not disappointed or surprised, but everything feels a little bit off-kilter.

'Burgers?' Jaemin turns to Donghyuck and Chenle, smile baring all his teeth into a dangerous little grin.

‘Burgers,’ Chenle cheers.

Donghyuck can’t help but hate how normal everything feels.

 

 

‘It’s like I look at him, and I see two people,’ Donghyuck explains, legs shaking in exertion. ‘It’s like that for both of them, really.’

Taeyong hums, pacing a circle around Donghyuck.

‘What do you see, then?’ he asks, and presses a bony hand to Donghyuck’s sternum. His eyes lift from where they’re focused on Donghyuck’s shaking legs to meet his gaze.

‘I mean, I see _Jaemin_ first, because he’s my best friend?’ Donghyuck’s voice come out a tight squeeze as he fights against the pressure of Taeyong’s hand and the balance that he’s trying to keep. ‘He’s loud and funny and one of my favourite people on earth.’

‘And then?’

Donghyuck’s concentration wavers and his knees shoot in all directions before he steadies himself again.

‘And then I see The Almighty and I remember? He just... hurt so many people, without caring?’ Donghyuck remembers the fear that had coursed through those girls’ voices as he and Mark tried to pull them out. He doesn’t remember anything else, but Taeyong still sometimes runs a hand through his hair, checking for bumps that are long since gone. ‘And I get so angry, and so _scared_.’

'I’m not saying channel those feelings into something,’ Taeyong says, voice low and steady, ‘because that’s dangerous. But you need to remember it? You can’t let it go.’

‘I’m not going to,’ Donghyuck promises, and he accepts Taeyongs hand to step off the pilates ball he’s been balancing on.

His body feels like jelly for a moment, and Taeyong whispers compliments (a rarity) as he guides Donghyuck back onto his seat.

The lair is one of Donghyuck’s favourite places, although he doesn’t think Taeyong believes it.

It’s the place that he and Taeyong shared for the longest time, a commonality between them before their lives began to twine together. It’s where he was first accepted as Taeyong’s sidekick, reluctant as the older man had been at first.

He loves the duality of Taeyong and Hana. One of Seoul’s more famous crimefighters, known for his brutal efficiency, and the barista who can’t even handle three drinks at once. This building is the epitome of that duality. It’s got the weapons and the computers and the files that Taeyong uses as a vigilante, but he’s also got the cleaning supplies, and shitty television playing reruns of variety shows in the background.

‘You’re doing something extremely brave,’ Taeyong continues, passing Donghyuck some gatorade. ‘I know of people who have been in the business far longer than you have who are too afraid to read a friend’s character.’

Donghyuck can’t help but notice the bitterness in Taeyong’s voice, doesn’t want to push a history that has long since past, so he presses his lips together and focuses on steadying his breathing.

‘It doesn’t feel brave,’ he says, looking at his feet. ‘It feels like I’m lying to them, hiding things from them and it’s not even _my fault_.’

‘I know,’ Taeyong murmurs, running a hand through Donghyuck’s hair before tilting his head back. ‘Come on.’

He strips off his jacket, and Donghyuck stands up on shaky legs because he knows he has to work through all of this. Taeyong’s body slips back into a defensive stance, and Donghyuck mirrors it, arms up and ready to block his face.

Taeyong attacks first, because Donghyuck never will, and Donghyuck swings his arm down to blog Taeyong’s punch.

‘I wish I could just _understand it_ ,’ Donghyuck says through sharp breaths, arm rising to protect his face before he spins into a kick. ‘But it’s confusing? Nothing makes sense.’

‘The thing you’re still learning about this job,’ Taeyong huffs, rolling back and away, ‘is that nothing makes sense. Just wait until a dinosaur rips through time and starts trying to eat people.’

‘If that happens, I’m quitting,’ Donghyuck warns, too late to escape Taeyong’s fist and grunting as it impacts with his suit. ‘I can barely deal with what is from our time, let alone anything beyond it.’

‘Best we don’t jinx it,’ Taeyong gets another punch in, brushing Donghyuck as the older man reigns pauses last second. ‘But you’re strong, _resilient_ , and I’m proud of you for that?’

Donghyuck’s cheeks burn and they step away from each other. Donghyuck didn’t get a single good attack in, but he doesn’t feel like collapsing as he leans forward. He’s still learning how to do this, the fighting and the running, and he knows that he’s good but it was a trial for him to get to where he is today.

Somehow, Taeyong’s stuck with him through all of this.

‘Thanks,’ he says, and Taeyong smiles down at him again.

‘Have more confidence in yourself, trust your instincts,’ he says, a heaviness to his gaze that both comforts and scares Donghyuck. ‘We’re all here for you, to support you.’

Donghyuck laughs as he takes a sip of the water that he’s put to the side. He feels exhausted but right, standing here in this room. ‘You know, it almost sounds like you _like_ me now,’ he teases.

It draws one of Taeyong’s uglier laughs, the one that is too large and too bright and shakes his entire body. It’s utterly charming in the way that only someone who loves a person can enjoy it, and Donghyuck can’t help but wonder when Taeyong became one of the most important people in his life.

‘Don’t tell the others, they’ll think I’m going _soft_ ,’ Taeyong warns, wiping away his own sweat with a towel.

‘I bet you like me more than Mark now,’ Donghyuck continues and Taeyong doesn’t say anything for a second. Donghyuck spins, eyes fixed on Taeyong with his small grin and pink cheeks. ‘Oh, my god, you do!’ He can’t help it, the rush forward to _irritate_ Taeyong into admitting it. ‘You think I’m a better sidekick than perfect Mark Lee.’

‘I don’t,’ Taeyong lies, and for a vigilante he’s so obvious about it, tell loud and clear as his hand rubs his neck. ‘I just think you’re minutely less annoying than you were when you started.’

‘You like me now,’ Donghyuck grins, as cheeky as he can make it. ‘I’m your favourite.’

 

 

Donghyuck twists and turns down unfamiliar streets, the map on his phone reading out the path that he needs to take. Taeyong had taken him here once before, but it had been through cheap taxis and with the lingering symptoms of a concussion.

Ordinarily Taeyong would be the one doing this, but he has a shift at the café that Sicheng can’t cover. Donghyuck’s in-charge of going to Hansol’s apartment and gathering the few items he’s been repairing for them.

(He’s supposed to be returning the ray gun as well, but he’s conveniently forgotten that at Taeyong’s apartment.)

He's got a scarf wrapped around the lower part of his face, and his domino mask is tucked into his pocket. He's opted for sunglasses over the scarf, however, and he knows he looks a little bit like an idiot from the half-glances that he's getting from the few pedestrians he's come across.

Donghyuck stops at a door that looks vaguely familiar and checks his phone for the fifth time before pressing on the doorbell.

The door swings open to a bleary looking Hansol, still in in pyjamas.

'Hey kiddo,' he says with a yawn before gesturing for the boy to follow him. Donghyuck can barely contain the laughter that shakes through him as Hansol stumbles over a shoe and catches himself on the wall.

'Long night?' He follows Hansol around a pile of books, engineering from the looks of it, and wonders if Hansol's working on his thesis or some sort project. It could be either with the older man.

'I rue the day I decided to pursue higher education.’ Hansol leans over and picks up a can of energy drink from the coffee table as they pass it, downing it in one long gulp.

Donghyuck screws up his nose slightly at the sight of the squashed red bull cans scattered on the floor. He tries to hold it back in sympathy at the amount of paper covered in highlighted streaks.  Hansol, he has gathered from meetings with the hyungs, didn't want to go on hiatus through his PhD and refuses to out of stubbornness. He deserves to have as much energy drinks as he'd like.

'You’re not making a good argument for us sidekicks,' Donghyuck jokes.

‘I’m really not,’ Hansol laughs, ruffling Donghyuck’s hair as he opens a door that Donghyuck hadn’t noticed last time. ‘Do as we say, not as we do.’

‘I’ll keep that in mind,’ Donghyuck laughs, nudging Hansol with his elbow as he follows him into the room.

His voice dies in his throat, because he’s in Hansol’s workshop for the first time. It’s almost like half the house has been gutted and transformed into a single cavernous room for Hansol to use. The tables are covered in power tools and half-finished weapons, laptops and computers that have wires spilling out of them, and there are a variety of small, less mechanical weapons scattered about.

Sitting at one of the tables is Jaemin, screwdriver in hand as he fiddles with something that Donghyuck can’t name or recognise. He’s bent over close, glasses on as he cracks open the casing with a sharp tap. He knows what he’s doing, and Donghyuck is almost, almost surprised by that.

‘Jaemin, we have company,’ Hansol announces, and the boy yelps in surprise, dropping his screwdriver in surprise.

Donghyuck’s fist clenches, nails biting his palms in his pockets.

Jaemin scrambles to grab the screwdriver from the table, arranging everything neatly before jumping up into a standing position.

‘Hi,’ he says. His voice is thin as he smooths his hands against the front of his jeans and he stumbles forward a few steps. Donghyuck realises, small wave of surprise washing over him, that Jaemin is nervous.

‘How’s it going?’ Donghyuck nods lightly, because his face is protected and there’s a wall between the pair of them that makes everything that little bit easier.

‘I’m… good.’

This is a side that Donghyuck’s rarely seen of Jaemin. He’s seen him soft and quiet, because both of them are as equally calm as they are excitable, but he’s never seen him _nervous_. It’s different to the fear that Jaemin had presented when he was first revealed to be The Almighty, because it makes him seem small and unsure.

Donghyuck can’t tell if it’s real or not.

‘I think I’ve got some stuff for Taeyong in the shed,’ Hansol says, moving some stuff from one side of the table to another. ‘Can you guys wait here a minute or to?’

‘Sure,’ Donghyuck says, eyes barely leaving Jaemin as he hears Hansol walk away.

Jaemin’s still standing, hasn’t moved from in front of his table, so Donghyuck takes the small amount of initiative he has to walk closer. He wants to see what will happen, when he’s alone with Jaemin and Jaemin doesn’t have to play the affectionate best friend. He wants to see Jaemin mess up and expose himself as a liar, so he doesn’t have to deal with the stress and worry that courses through him when he sees his face.

He wants the doubt to end.

There’s a moment when Jaemin almost swallows down the silence that sits in his throat and tilts his chin up. A casual smile works across his face and he leans against the table. Donghyuck smirks under the scarf, because he’s seen this before. This, he knows, is the mask that Jaemin wears when he’s nervous.

They’re both boys who hide behind a façade of bluster and excitement. In a situation where Donghyuck controls everything except the single variable of Jaemin, he realises that this boy is easier to read alone.

‘What are you working on?’ he asks, leaning against Jaemin’s table to look at the knick-knacks that are scattered about.

‘I’m just experimenting,’ Jaemin says with a relaxed smile, too loose and languid as rolls his shoulders. ‘Seeing what tools Hansol’s got and seeing what I can do with everything.’

‘That’s cool,’ Donghyuck doesn’t pretend to be impressed, just plays with the items on Jaemin’s table and puts them down in the wrong spot. He can see Jaemin twitch, fingers spasming in what must be the desire to slap his hand away. This is almost fun, with his feet sure beneath him, to poke and prod at the edges of Jaemin to see what he’s hiding.

Donghyuck’s not the one adrift right now, and it’s a weight off his chest that he didn’t know was there.

‘How are you fitting in here?’ Donghyuck asks. He doesn’t pretend to be cute, just nice

‘Well,’ Jaemin says, looking up with bright little grin. ‘Everyone’s been really helpful, and Yuta’s been really nice about making sure I understand what’s going on and what’s expected of me.’

‘Of course he has,’ Donghyuck says with a nod. Of all of them, it was probably lucky that Jaemin was assigned to be put under the watch of Yuta and Hansol. They are, he often thinks, the most human of the men that make up the team.

Donghyuck wanders over to one of Hansol’s tables, picking up a knife and swinging it in his grip. The weight is a bit off, but it doesn’t take him long to get used to that balance. Jaemin’s eyes are fixed on the blade in his hand, the smile frozen on his face, and Donghyuck twists it once with a flick of his wrist. Jaemin flinches.

‘I have to say, it’s a pretty good gig you’ve gotten,’ Donghyuck hums, he spins the knife again. ‘They’ve put a lot of trust in you by letting you work with Hansol.

‘I know,’ Jaemin says, and now his gaze has dropped. The little cracks in his façade has appeared, the way he can’t meet Donghyuck’s gaze and the way his smile falls limp in the corners. Donghyuck shouldn’t feel as vindicated as he does, shouldn’t feel like that his skin sits on his shoulders right for the first in far too long.

He puts the knife down, and Jaemin’s eyes haven’t moved from some sort of circuit board in front of him but the tension in his brow is gone.

‘Don’t do anything to break that trust,’ Donghyuck says, walking back to Jaemin’s table. The younger boy looks up, through his glasses and through his fringe and he gives a little bit of a nod. Donghyuck lets out a huff of a laugh, and barely resists ruffling the hair on Jaemin’s head. It’s too familiar and too confusing all at once.

‘Okay, I think I’ve got everything,’ Hansol mutters, backing into the room with a giant duffle bag in his arms. ‘New tasing bastons for Taeyong, a couple new trackers for both of you,’ he drops the bag down and grabs something from the side. ‘Comms, so that you guys can communicate when it’s dark.’

Donghyuck lets out an offended little huff, his whistling system is very well developed and works when they need it to. Admittedly it is pretty nice for them to finally have a working pair of comms, they’ve been waiting on for longer than any of them would like to admit.

‘Also, something new for you.’ Hansol hands them over to him, slipping them onto Donghyuck’s fingers. They’re almost like brass knuckles, until Hansol flips something on the side and a blade kicks out. ‘Give them a week, see if you like them?’

Donghyuck swings carefully, feeling the weight in his hand with a small grimace. They’re all right but he can already tell that he’s not really going to like them, just like he didn’t like the daggers and the bastons and the countless other weapons that he’d tried over the past couple of weeks. But he knows he needs to try his options, knows he can’t risk going out with only his fists when there’s a whole world of danger out there.

‘I’ll let you know how they go,’ he says with a smile, and tucks them away into the side of the duffle. ‘Thanks.’

 

 

Donghyuck doesn’t want to follow the others to lunch. It’s not even the doubt and confusion that races through him and overtakes him when he looks at Jaemin, but the weariness in his calves and the heaviness of his head that stops him from following them through school these days.

His eyes drift closed for a moment, and the boy lets his head drop down onto the table in front of him. Training hasn’t been too bad, if he’s honest, but the build-up of training and patrolling and homework has piled on over the last few nights and he’s _exhausted_. It’s earnt him concerned looks from his friends, and Taeyong insisting that they can slow down and reprioritise. But Donghyuck doesn’t want to, doesn’t want to stop lest everything catches up with him and knocks him down.

‘Hyuck, are you coming?’ Jeno asks. ‘It’s lunch time?’

‘Gimme a minute,’ he mutters and looks up through bleary eyes at the three concerned faces in front of him. Jeno’s bent over low, Jaemin slung around his shoulders with a small frown on his face.  Renjun stands further back, no less concerned. It’s nice, Donghyuck allows himself to think. ‘A long, comfortable minute to nap.’

‘You need to eat,’ Renjun insists, and he’s pressing a hand to Donghyuck’s forehead. ‘He doesn’t seem sick.’

‘Just sleepy,’ he mutters, and allows himself to rest his head against Renjun’s hand. ‘You guys can go on without me, seriously. I might just, you know? Rest in the hall.’ 

He forces himself up, Jeno’s hand flying to his lower back immediately, and stumbles out of the classroom door. He slumps over in the corridor. It’s quiet there, most of his classmates going down to the cafeteria for their lunch, and he appreciates the moments of stillness around him.

‘Are you sure you don’t want us to stay?’ Jaemin asks, crouching down to look at Donghyuck. ‘We can bring the others.’

‘I won’t get a wink if sleep even if you guys are being considerate,’ Donghyuck scoffs, tipping his head back to look at his friends. It’s somehow comfortable. ‘I’ll be fine, I just need to rest a bit.’

‘Do you want us to grab you anything from the cafeteria?’ Jaemin asks, fingers combing through Donghyuck’s hair. It’s sweet, and kind and Donghyuck can’t tell what’s real and what isn’t. He wants it to be real, wants his best friend back in the deepest, darkest part of his heart and this is one of those moments where he just lets himself believe.

Donghyuck shakes his head again. ‘Just wake me up before lunch is over or something.’

They’re hesitant to leave, Donghyuck can hear them hissing arguments and justifications as they begin to make their way down the corridor. He watches them go, fixed on the slim figures of his friends before he turns away again. There’s no way he’ll be able to fall asleep here, not properly. Donghyuck’s always had trouble dropping off, especially now that Taeyong’s trained a sort of alertness into his bones that he cannot shake. But he might be able to calm the thoughts in his mind enough to relax.

He’s not sure how long he sits there, focusing in the ins and outs of his breathing and the murmur of excited students from around the corridor and down the stairs. It feels like five minutes, but it also feels like fifty, time slipping by as he takes a moment to be himself for the first time in far too long.

Donghyuck’s not sure if he likes it. He’s always known there’s a difference between being alone and being lonely. Being alone were those brief hours in his dorm room, not having to worry about everything that went on outside the room that he was inside. It was playing around on his phone and then getting bored and running into Jeno and Renjun’s room to annoy them into watching a film with him.

But this almost feels lonely, like there is a whole world whizzing by him and he’s just caught on the edge of it. He needs this break, he thinks, but he also hates it. He needs to reach out to all of them, he knows that, but he doesn’t know where to start and doesn’t know when it will end. The exhaustion makes it worse and he just wishes he had the power to stand up, push through it and fix it so this silence didn’t hurt.

He doesn’t notice Renjun walking up to him, not until the other boy slips down next to him.

He’s definitely quieter than Jaemin can be from what Donghyuck has noticed on patrols. That part of him that’s trained to notice everything can’t help but think that Renjun would be good as a hero. (But Donghyuck tries to catch the thought before it runs away from him. Doesn’t want to think of more friends being tangled in that lifestyle that Donghyuck had chosen.)

 ‘You’re going to freeze out here,’ Renjun scolds, dropping a blazer of Donghyuck’s shoulders.

‘I’m fine,’ Donghyuck mumbles, leaning into Renjun as the other boy slips down to sit next to him. ‘What are you doing here? I told you guys you didn’t have to wait with me.’

‘Yeah, but they’re being loud today and I just want to draw,’ Renjun says, pulling out the small sketchbook that he carries around with him. He claims he’s not a good artist, but Donghyuck’s always loved to watch Renjun make a world come to life on the page. ‘I figured I could keep you company and get some drawing in.’

‘You sure?’

Renjun levels Donghyuck with an unimpressed look. ‘Believe it or not, I like spending time with you.’

Donghyuck snorts, and that loneliness in his chest clears just a little bit. ‘I know that, but _still_. Jaemin and Jeno are going to be way more fun than I am right now.’

‘They’re trying to talk Mark into telling them what’s going on with the school festival,’ Renjun laughs. ‘More to annoy him than anything.’

‘Typical,’ Donghyuck says with a small laugh, even though he would ordinarily join in with the pestering.

The school festival wasn’t the biggest event of the year, but students looked forward to it. The fun and the games that the school would organise, would let the students organise, was one of the rare times they got to let go and just play around at the end of the year, when exams and work was over.

‘I was thinking we could help for it,’ Renjun suggests, pencil moving in quick lines across the paper. ‘Nothing much, but it’d just be something to do?’

‘I mean,’ Donghyuck trails off because he wants to but he doesn’t know how much he can handle before he begins to split at the seams.

‘It’ll let you get away from them, a little bit,’ he says, not unkindly and Donghyuck shoots up straight.

‘Wait, _what_?’

‘Mark and Jaemin, I know that you’re avoiding them.’

‘I’m not avoiding them? Did you not see me go out to lunch with them on the weekend?’ Donghyuck is a good liar, okay, he managed to convince all his friends that he’s living with his cousin. None of them know that he’s a sidekick to one of the more well-known vigilantes in the city. Why is his voice cracking and pitching up higher as he looks at Renjun?

‘That was with _us_ , as a group,’ Renjun isn’t reprimanding, but Donghyuck feels small in front of him. ‘You always space out when they’re talking, and you can barely look at them together. I know that it’s weird, that they’re dating,’ — ‘ _Dating, what?_ ’— ‘and that it’s worse because of who it is. I want to help you through this?’

There are so many things wrong in that sentence, and so many things right that Donghyuck is thrown for a full few seconds.

‘What… I’m?’ Donghyuck’s voice is cracking his throat. He doesn’t know what to do and he laughs, the sound short and awkward on his tongue as he turns away from Renjun’s sharp, discerning eyes. The Chinese student has always been too smart compared to the rest of them, and more willing to talk about issues between them.

‘You’re hurting, I can see that much,’ Renjun sighs, ‘Jeno and Chenle and I don’t want to push it, but you’re hurting Donghyuck-ah.’

‘I’m not _jealous_ of some relationship or anything?’ he mutters, and it’s so obviously a lie in the way it sits bitter on his tongue. He can’t help the way his stomach turns as he asks the next question. ‘Do you really think they’re dating?’

‘They’ve got something new between them, and it’s something that we’re not a part of,’ Renjun sighs, and Donghyuck can’t help but think that at least there’s an excuse, to cover the suspicions that Mark and Jaemin raise in their idiocy. ‘And I know it’s tough because you’ve got a crush on Mark, but you’ll get through it. You’re strong.’

‘A… a crush on Mark?’ Donghyuck’s voice cracks a little bit as he sits up. ‘I don’t have a _crush_ on Mark Lee? He’s boring and nerdy and just? Not at all what _I_ would have a crush on.’

‘Whatever you say,’ Renjun says, but he’s got a little sad smirk to his lips. Donghyuck realises he wants to tease Donghyuck for his words, even as he feels sorry for Donghyuck. It’s a weird little hollow feeling, Donghyuck can’t put a name to it. ‘Just know that I’m here for you.’

Donghyuck sighs, not sure if he’s grateful or not, and rests his head back against the walls as Renjun keeps sketching.

 

 

‘Can I have coffee?’ Donghyuck asks, and he smiles as sweetly at Sicheng as he can. The exchange student gives Donghyuck this small smile (a victory, in the grand scheme of things) and Donghyuck’s just about to cheer when Taeyong raises an eyebrow. ‘No caffeine, it’s after five.’

‘I’m old enough to make my decisions about what I drink,’ Donghyuck huffs, even as Sicheng lets out this barking laugh and switches to the hot chocolate mix. ‘Plus, we’re going to be out late tonight, aren’t we?’

‘You’re going to stunt your growth,’ Taeyong says, as if he’s not tiny and Johnny doesn’t have a mug of coffee permanently attached to his thumb. ‘And no, there’s just going to be a short meeting tonight. I need to talk to Johnny about some things, check on Mark’s training. You can stay at home.’

‘I’ll come with you,’ Donghyuck grins, because he doesn’t know how to tell Taeyong he feels off-centre in the middle of the apartment. ‘If that’s okay?’

‘No, it’s fine,’ Taeyong smiles up at Donghyuck as he takes a tray over to where Jaehyun’s sitting by the window. Donghyuck can’t help watching him, out of the corner of his eyes before Sicheng’s handing him a cup with a couple of extra marshmallows. He whispers thanks as he hops up onto the bar stool. ‘As long as you don’t mind waiting around.’

‘I’ll be fine,’ Donghyuck says blowing on the top of the mug. He takes a sip, and is absolutely not surprised when it’s perfect.

‘Don’t promise it,’ Doyoung walks out of the kitchen with a large tray of sandwiches, each looking more mouth-watering than the last. ‘Those meetings are notoriously boring, it’s all about growth and development and all that sort of stuff.’ He smirks across the room as Taeyong lets out a kind of spluttering argument.

‘Stop picking on him,’ Jaehyun laughs. ‘It’ll probably be good for Donghyuck, he’s good at that stuff, the analytical side.’

‘Hero sense,’ Doyoung nods to himself as he and Taeyong begin moving the sandwiches into the display. ‘Most pretentious phrase we’ll ever use, but if he’s got it, he’s got it.’

‘That… is really pretentious,’ Jaehyun laughs again.

But Donghyuck can’t help but duck away from where careful eyes are watching him by the counter. He doesn’t really know Doyoung, not apart from a few minutes of conversation in the café, and it feels unnerving to have that much attention put on him.

‘You’re just jealous because you haven’t got it yet,’ Doyoung says, and everything is this biting jibe that Donghyuck can’t help but admire. ‘You’re still a rookie, rookie.’

‘Didn’t say otherwise,’ Jaehyun _laughs_. Donghyuck doesn’t know how anyone can just be, so happy. Jaehyun is just so relaxed and chill, and happy to be where he is. There’s a surety to his shoulders that Donghyuck doesn’t really understand, and almost wants to emulate, but he’s not sure if he could.

Jaehyun’s content to just let the world ebb and flow around him.

‘He’s still good though,’ Taeyong says, and his smile is small and reserved for Jaehyun. Donghyuck doesn’t know if Taeyong notices that minute clench in Doyoung’s jaw, or the way his smile comes back sharper and brighter. ‘He’s going to go places, if he _applies_ himself.’

‘I know, I know,’ Jaehyun rolls his eyes. ‘I told you, I’m working it out, working me out.’

Jaehyun hadn’t gone on patrol since Jaemin was revealed, perhaps the shock of the night finally working through him on the increase in his load as a university student. Donghyuck doesn’t know half his story, but there’s a shadow to Taeyong’s eyes sometime as much as there’s a light and he’s not sure if he likes it.

‘What do you mean, hero sense?’ Donghyuck asks, and his voice cuts through the laughter and the teasing that is between them and the men share this _look_.

‘You’re smart, Donghyuck,’ Taeyong says, and he’s walked around to look straight in Donghyuck’s eyes. His gaze is strong and warm and firm and Donghyuck can’t hold it for very long. ‘You’re smart and you can read signs and you want to do the right thing.’

Donghyuck blushes and Doyoung lets out a small snort of amusement. ‘What he means is that you’ve picked up in a few months what most people take years to learn.’ They’re not compliments or platitudes from Doyoung’s mouth, facts that Donghyuck isn’t quite sure he’s ready to believe in. ‘It’s easy to play the part of being a hero, you punch a bad guy and save the damsel in distress. But it’s not all about that.’

‘What is it then?’ Donghyuck can’t help but ask, and Taeyong laughs.

‘You already know, you just haven’t realised it,’ he says, and he pulls away from Donghyuck to go back behind the counter. All their eyes are on him and Donghyuck doesn’t know what to do, not really. So, he takes a sip of his hot chocolate and looks down.

 

 

There’s a difference between Johnny and Taeyong, and Donghyuck always forgets it until it’s right in front of him. And that’s the fact that Taeyong is a vigilante, and Johnny is a _superhero_.

Hidden in Bukhansan National Park lies Johnny’s superhero base, a spaceship that somehow no-one noticed.

It’s always amazing when Donghyuck walks in, because it’s made of a metal that looks like it’s from Earth but it vibrates with a power that can only be described as alien. His fingers trace over it lightly as Taeyong leads him through twisting corridors towards the main part of the ship.

‘Why can’t we have an ultramodern base?’ he asks, injecting just enough of a whine to make Taeyong roll his eyes.

‘Because you and I are broke, and we don’t need all this stuff. Youngho’s one of the last of his species and he’s trying to work out how to preserve his culture,’ Taeyong says as a door slides open.

Johnny stands in the middle of the room, screens floating around him in something that is almost an orbit.  He’s not wearing his costume, the ostentatious armour of a civilisation long gone on a planet light years away from them, but rather jeans and a button up shirt.

‘Hey Taeyong,’ Johnny grins, ‘hey little dude!’

‘Hi, hyung,’ Donghyuck can’t help it, the excitement that chirps through his voice as he steps into the room. He’s always keen to explore what Johnny has open when he gets there. ‘Mark here?’

‘Probably training,’ Johnny says and Donghyuck nods before jogging along another corridor that leads to the large training simulator that Johnny and Mark use. He makes sure his mask is in place, hair swept into a different part and hopes that it’s enough to fool Mark.

Mind you, Mark never noticed before so he’s not too worried today.

The large, shining sphere floats in the middle of the room, shielding Mark from view. Donghyuck barks out the orders that had been programmed into the system to let Mark know that he’s not alone, and he watches as the shimmering metal dissolved and disappears out of view.

‘Haechan!’ Mark’s still floating, three metres about Donghyuck’s head, and Donghyuck lets out an impatient huff. ‘Yeah, yeah I’m coming down.’ He begins to inch closer to Donghyuck, a careful descent that he focuses on.

‘Hurry up,’ Donghyuck barks, and Mark stumbles as he hits the ground too fast. It’s almost amusing, and it feels like _them_ as they’re supposed to be. ‘The grownups are having a check-in, so you better have something interesting to show me today.’

He can’t help the petulance that runs through his voice.

‘You’re seriously not taking the mask off?’ Mark asks as he fiddles with the controls of the simulator. ‘I mean, I took mine off and everything.’

‘Yeah but only because you couldn’t contain your surprise when your friend turned up. I’d like to keep my secret identity a secret, thank you.’ Donghyuck picks at his nails, affecting as much of a disinterested look as he can.

‘If you say so,’ Mark laughs but he turns to look Donghyuck straight in the eye. ‘Why are you here, Haechan?’  

‘Perhaps I’m here to train,’ Donghyuck says, and he taps the little code that brings up the simulation of a beast from a planet that Mark’s only told him about on patrols. ‘I gotta keep on top of this stuff, you know.’

‘You’ve been training every day this week, Johnny told me,’ Mark taps something else and the hologram disappears. ‘You’re going to burn yourself out if you go to hard, and I know that you wouldn’t do that. _Would you stop playing with my ship?_ How do you even know how to use this?’

‘I’ve been here before, duh. Johnny’s showed me how it works,’ Mark actually raises an impressed eyebrow at that and it makes Donghyuck laugh a little bit. ‘And I wanted to ask what about your stupid _Sidekick Club_ thing.’

‘It’s not stupid,’ Mark grumbles. ‘I think it’ll be good for us.’

‘Good for us, or good for you and your friend to goof off in?’ Donghyuck hates being serious, especially with the person that he might have been able to call his best friend if things were different. ‘Because you’ve never been like this before, and I don’t want to get myself into something I’m going to regret.’

Mark shakes his head, ‘No obligation. We’re just trying something out, to see whether or not we can do some good as a team without the hyungs. If you don’t like it, you don’t like it and you can leave. But I promise you, Jaemin’s really nice and he wants to do the right thing and this would be a great opportunity for all of us.’

‘I’m trusting you on this,’ Donghyuck warns.

Mark smiles, and it’s soft and strong and he looks at Donghyuck with such seriousness. ‘We could change the world, if we do this right.’

This is Haechan’s Mark.

He’s not a quiet boy on the student council, who doesn’t know how to talk to Donghyuck as much as Donghyuck doesn’t know how to talk to him. He’s not stretched between classes and meetings and loving it, still making jokes that fall flat and letting out laughs that are more awkward than not. That’s a boy that Donghyuck knows, but doesn’t really understand, and perhaps Donghyuck still appreciates him for that.

But Haechan’s Mark is resolute and confident, even in his mistakes. He has drive and ambition and can carry the whole world on his super-strength enforced back. He’s awkward, yes, but he has his principles and he sticks to them. There’s a reason he’s a hero, and it’s because there’s something that runs through his soul and blood. Donghyuck thinks this is what the hyungs meant by hero sense.

Donghyuck trusts Haechan’s Mark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [twt](http://twitter.com/neocitz) | [cc](http://curiouscat.me/neocitz)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> un-beta'd
> 
>  
> 
> SPOILERS BELOW  
> (also a prior warning to anyone who doesn’t follow my twitter, i’m afraid jaeyong is no longer endgame!been meaning to tell my non-twt readers for a few weeks)

‘What are you doing?’ Taeyong tsks, pushing Donghyuck into the seat at the end of the kitchen table. ‘You look like you spent the night wrestling a tiger or something.’

‘Perhaps I did,’ Donghyuck says, just to be petulant. ‘I snuck out after you fell asleep and decided to train at the zoo.’

Taeyong huffs out a laugh, and his fingers pick at Donghyuck’s hair, trying to smooth it out into something that resembles being neat. Donghyuck plays at trying to swat Taeyong’s hands away, because he doesn’t want to admit that he actually likes it. These moments between the two of them are odd, teetering on the edge of being too nice but Donghyuck revels in it.

‘Did you win, at least?’ Taeyong says, once Donghyuck looks less like a potential birds’ nest and more like a high school student.

‘Nah, the tiger beat my ass,’ Donghyuck snorts out a laugh, and it draws that too-loud snort of laughter from Taeyong as he walks back over to the stove. ‘I had a bit of luck against the meerkats, but there were too many of them.’

‘I’ll schedule in a practice or two with some small woodland creatures,’ Taeyong hums as he shovels the frying rice around the pan. ‘After we work on how to fall properly.’

‘Do I get to finally learn parkour?’ Donghyuck asks, rising up to set the small table with the limited crockery that Taeyong owns. ‘Because if not, I think we should really discuss the possibility of me getting a grappling hook.’

‘You’re not getting a grappling hook,’ Taeyong sighs, turning the stove off as he brings the steaming pan over. ‘I don’t want you to break any more windows than you have already.’

‘I’ve only broken,’ Donghyuck pauses, ‘five this month!’

‘And how many has Mark broken?’ That question’s one that Donghyuck’s used to, and he can’t help the impatient little huff that leaves his lips at Taeyong’s teasing words. (At least, he reasons, it’s teasing now, rather than the cold disappointment of the previous months.) 

‘Two, but he’s an alien, he has _superpowers,’_ Donghyuck insists with a little wiggle of his fingers. ‘I’ve only got Truth and Justice.’ He curls his fingers into fists and there’s a moment, a long moment before Taeyong burst into loud, unapologetic laughter.

‘And what, the American Way? Did Johnny teach you that?’ Taeyong actually drops the rice that he’s trying to serve. ‘I can’t believe you named your fists.’

‘He’s not even from America,’ Donghyuck mutters, without an inch of remorse because seeing Taeyong laugh loosened something in his chest. He can’t help the smile that stretches across his face as he passes the spoon to Taeyong. ‘Anyway, I know what you named your first knife. Yuta told me: _Blade of Doom,’_ he scoffs.

Taeyong turns the exact shade of his hair, cheeks warming as he shoves the first spoonful of rice in his mouth. Donghyuck is significantly smarter about it, and blows on the rice to cool it down a bit.

‘Still,’ Taeyong says, ‘I don’t think a grappling hook is what you need. How are the new knuckle dusters treating you?’

‘They’re all right,’ Donghyuck shrugs. ‘They help me when I’m in closer, but I have to get in _really_ close for them?’ He’s not… _bad_ at close combat, and the bladed weapon does help that little bit against people bigger and stronger than him, but it doesn’t feel right to him yet.

‘We’ll make note of that, talk to Hansol about it.’

‘Thanks, hyung,’ Donghyuck smiles down at his plate. ‘I don’t mind them though, I’ll probably keep using them for a little while?’

‘As long as you’re not compromising on your own safety to use them,’ Taeyong says, and that’s the serious, levelled tone of Hana that scared Donghyuck as much as it drew him towards his mentor. Donghyuck can’t help the way his smile grows at the sound of it, knowing that buried under the gruff and bluster, Taeyong genuinely cares about him.

‘I won’t,’ Donghyuck promises, and his voice feels small in his chest. He feels safe. ‘I promise.’

‘Good,’ Taeyong says.

He stands up again, propelling himself over the island bench with a gracefulness that Donghyuck’s never seen in anyone else. Sometimes, Taeyong will trip over something, and Donghyuck will laugh and wonder how such a human disaster could be one of the leading crimefighters in Seoul. But sometimes, he’ll do something so effortlessly and beautiful and it’ll remind Donghyuck about why he searched high and low to learn from this man.

‘Do you want to take the rice for lunch?’ Taeyong asks, rummaging around the fridge for some vegetables that they’d eaten a night or two before. ‘I’ve got enough eggplant and tofu to turn it into a full dish?’

‘Yeah.’ Donghyuck bites his lip, unable to keep the smile on his face as Taeyong throws the container across the room. He catches it, only from months of practice, and slides it onto the dinging table. ‘It’s mystery meat Thursday, I don’t trust any of it.’

‘I wouldn’t,’ Taeyong has a little sneer to his nose as he runs his hand through his hair. There’s no change, anymore, between the Taeyong that looks out for him as a sidekick and the Taeyong that looks out for him as a regular kid. ‘I’m not a fan of that school.’

‘I know you’re not,’ Donghyuck rolls his eyes as he begins to scoop his lunch into a container. ‘But it’s a good one, and my parents chose it.’

There’s a moment, that hangs awkward and long between them at that. Donghyuck’s parents aren’t a subject the two of them have ever discussed. Donghyuck perhaps wonders if there’s room for family in the superhero world, before discarding the thought in case he spirals too deep into it. He loves his family, but he knows that he can do more here than he can on Jeju.

‘As long as you’re happy,’ Taeyong says, and there’s that little tone that sets Donghyuck’s heart clenching. It’s not malicious, the way that Taeyong laughs awkwardly through the words, but it sometimes makes him worry. He’s not sure what it makes him worry about, but it sits ill in his chest.

‘I’ve got to get going,’ Donghyuck stutters instead, standing up and smoothing down his school uniform again. Taeyong leans against the counter, clad in a too-loose t-shirt and trackpants and nods once.

‘Go, don’t be late,’ he says, and he tosses one more item at Donghyuck. Donghyuck’s hand snatches it out of the air before he registers what it is, and he mutters a thank you to Taeyong when he sees it’s a snack for the end of the bus ride. He shoves everything into his bag, a mess of papers and food that makes Taeyong wince. His life is organised chaos, even if Taeyong’s is not.

‘I’ll be out late tonight,’ Taeyong adds, as Donghyuck pulls out a couple of facemasks and stuffs them down the front of his schoolbag pocket. It’s not hygienic, but he’s not doing it for that. ‘Feel free to order something in for dinner.’

‘I’ll be hanging out with the guys after school,’ the half-lie trips off his tongue. ‘Don’t worry too much.’

 

 

‘Did you hear?’ Chenle drops down behind Renjun, curling his chin to rest on the smaller boy’s shoulder as he scrolls through his phone. ‘A kaiju was spotted off the East Coast of Japan.’

‘Fuck,’ Jeno says, sitting up to slide his chair in close. Donghyuck doesn’t need to crowd around the screen of Chenle’s iPhone, he saw the news on the bus that morning, but he gravitates closer. ‘It’s been, what, three years since the last one?’

‘Five,’ Donghyuck corrects. ‘The one three years ago wasn’t a kaiju, it was a wormhole or something. Aliens.’

‘Nerd,’ Jaemin coughs, even as he stands up to look at Chenle’s tiny phone screen. ‘How does he always remember these things?’

Donghyuck decides to ignore the smirk on Jaemin’s lips as he rests his head on Jeno’s shoulder. A large, grey reptilian mass is smashing its way through Tokyo on screen and Donghyuck can’t help the little shudder that works through him.

He’s glad he’s never had, and will never have, to fight something like that.

‘Shit,’ someone mutters, their voices all caught in their throats and overlapping as they watch the video. It veers along the skyline, an aerial shot from a Japanese news website that none of them can understand. But the video is enough.

‘That’s pretty close to us,’ Chenle breathes as he clicks his phone’s screen off. ‘It won’t make it to Korea, will it?’

‘Doubt it,’ Donghyuck says as he pulls away from the little crowd around the phone. ‘If it’s a kaiju then Max and U-know are probably going to go over.’

That small, fanboy part of his brain that grew up watching their battles is excited, but the rest of him that knows how the fight works is _terrified_. He can’t help looking at Mark and Jaemin, just for the shortest of moments. Mark’s brow furrows ever so slightly and Donghyuck doesn’t let himself dwell too deeply. His gaze flicks to Jaemin, whose lips tilt up just a little bit in the corner as he pulls out his phone again to check the news.

There’s something about his smirk that makes Donghyuck feel cold.

‘It’ll be fine,’ Mark assures them as they begin to settle more comfortably, still as interlinked as they were watching the video. Donghyuck allows himself a moment to pretend that he’s okay, leaning against Renjun and Chenle. ‘We’ve got a lot of heroes between Tokyo and here.’

It makes Chenle relax a little bit, still tucked into Renjun’s shoulder. Donghyuck can’t help reaching over, grabbing Chenle’s hand in his and giving the lightest of squeezes. The boy smiles, and it’s a little sick in the corners. It doesn’t belong on his face.

‘Nothing happens in Seoul, anyway,’ Jaemin says, a sour edge to his voice that he swallows down in a second. He tosses his chin and grins across at Chenle, laughing away that bitterness that Donghyuck caught. ‘Most boring city in the world.’

‘Safest, you mean,’ Donghyuck corrects, and immediately regrets it. Everyone looks at him. There’s a moment, suspended, when he and Jaemin just look at each other before that little mischievous glint rises in Jaemin’s eyes.

‘Look at you, Mr Superhero Nerd,’ Jaemin grins, real and wide, and he wanders around the front of Renjun’s desk so he’s looking up at Donghyuck. ‘I thought you were a fan of these things.’

‘I’m a fan of the heroism,’ Donghyuck says, voice sticking in his throat. ‘Not the battles, or the destruction.’

‘That’s half the fun of it though,’ Jaemin says with a laugh. Donghyuck can’t help it, the full-bodied flinch that shocks through him. He shoots up. ‘Hyuck?

‘I,’ he stammers, ‘I’ve got to go. _Tutoring_.’

He leaves before they can call him back, before they can question him. Before he falls apart in the cracks between Donghyuck and Haechan.

 

 

‘What are we doing?’ Donghyuck asks, following Renjun through the twisting corridors of the school.

They’re heading towards the Art Department, although Donghyuck isn’t sure what for. Normally he spends his spare hour curled up around a laptop in the library, trying to get as much homework done as he can to free up his nights. Renjun had been insistent, however, that they not stay with Jeno and Jaemin for once.

‘I volunteered us for painting the sets.’

‘The _what?’_

‘School festival, remember,’ Renjun huffs, and Donghyuck’s mouth forms a small _o_ because he hadn’t actually thought Renjun would go ahead with it. He’d thought they they’d be involved in helping set it up or something, if anything, but Renjun’s always been a bit more hands on around school.

‘You signed us up for the _sets_ ,’ Donghyuck whines as he slows to a halt. ‘Put me on catering instead, I’ll even join the clean-up crew or something. _No-one_ wants to do the clean-up crew. They’ll really need me when it’s all over.’

Renjun laughs, and he tugs Donghyuck by the hand along the final stretch of the corridor. He’s probably the smallest person Donghyuck knows, but he’s about as strong as Johnny when he wants to be and there’s no choice in following him.

‘You’re helping me with painting the sets,’ Renjun says, turning the corner into the art room. ‘It’ll be a good way for you to relax, I promise.’

‘Hyuck! Renjun!’ Mark grins, and he stands up to wave them over. ‘I thought I saw your name on the list.’

‘Mark!’ If Renjun’s surprised, he doesn’t betray it except for the way his hand squeezes tight around Donghyuck’s in the moments before he drops it. ‘I didn’t know you were running this?’

‘Yeah,’ Mark runs a hand through his hair with a sort of half shrug to his smile. ‘I was supposed to be in charge of advertising but Woojin and I swapped. Something about his dance practice clashing.’

‘You’re about as artistic as a slug, I can’t wait to see what you come up with,’ Renjun says with a laugh as he and Donghyuck step fully into the room. ‘Where do you want us?’

‘Anywhere, for now,’ Mark says, ‘we’re trying to get everything painted black by today.’ He points to the piles of foam board and wood that are lying around the room. ‘

‘What are we even doing again?’

‘Haunted house,’ Mark leads them across the room and hands them the paintbrushes. ‘We need everything to be dark so it’s spooky,’ he does this little wiggle of his fingers and Donghyuck can’t help the snort of laughter.

‘Spooky,’ he repeats back at Mark. He is, Donghyuck thinks, such a dork in everything he does.

‘Shuddup,’ Mark mutters, but his lips are turned up into a gentle, almost-real smile. Donghyuck knocks him lightly, as Renjun gets swept away to a table of students making a mock-up of the haunted house. ‘Thanks for doing this. I’m looking forward to getting to know you a bit better.’

‘And here I thought you didn’t like me,’ Donghyuck teases lightly, turning to inspect some of the foam board that he’s supposed to be painting.

He looks up when Mark doesn’t speak and is met with wide eyed shock and half-caught words.

‘I—’ Mark says and Donghyuck’s quick to catch his hands, squeezing them once as he laughs.

‘I’m joking,’ he says. ‘You’re busy hyung, and we’ve always been closer to the others than we are to each other.’

Mark coughs, and there’s a small nod but it still hangs between them, a sort of awkwardness. In those moments late at night, when they’re flying through the air, Yeol is the person who understands Donghyuck the most. But standing in the classroom, they don’t know the slightest thing about each other.

‘We can, fix that?’ Donghyuck suggests, and he regrets it as soon as he asks it. It’s easier with Mark, than Jaemin, because he doesn’t have to know Mark as he is the boy at school. Getting to know Mark, letting Mark get to know him, will just deepen the spiral of confusion that washes over him whenever he looks at his friends.

But then Mark smiles, a truer, deeper smile and Donghyuck thinks it might not be a bad idea after all.

 

 

Donghyuck decided to let Mark and Jaemin take the lead on the whole sidekick club thing, if only because the two of them seemed to find the idea of it _fun_. He has barely seen them together as sidekicks in the last few nights, keeping away from the rest of the heroes on patrol in order to focus on his own training. But he knows they’ve been planning this together, with hushed whispers and giggles, and are actually excited of the prospect of the meeting.

He would have loved the idea of a sidekick club, if not for the dangerous twist of his stomach at the lies that encompass his life.

They’re supposed to meet pretty much as soon as school finished, but Donghyuck ends up at Starbucks at their arranged meeting time. He’s not sure that Taeil and Taeyong will forgive him for his transgression, but the drink is warm in his hands as he makes his way down to the address that Jaemin and Mark had given him.

It’s not too far from the school, about a twenty-minute walk. Donghyuck wonders if the tension he feels in his temples is what Taeyong complains about when Yuta or Johnny.  

He’s more than half an hour late when he finally arrives at the building that they’ve chosen as their base, Starbucks still unfinished in his hands. Jaemin’s the one to let him in, and Donghyuck follows him down the narrow corridor to the back of the building.

‘How were the things that Hansol gave you?’ he asks, turning over his shoulder to smile at Donghyuck. It looks displaced on his face, and Donghyuck runs a hand over his jaw as he forces a smile onto his own face.

‘The knives?’ Donghyuck scrunches up his nose a little bit. ‘They’re all right, I guess?’

Jaemin hums, and Donghyuck curls his fingers around the edge of his jumper. He’s hiding behind his domino mask and a beanie, but he still feels like an exposed nerve compared to Jaemin in his school uniform.

He takes another sip of his Starbucks as Jaemin leads him into a larger room. It’s obviously one of Yuta’s safehouses, from the couches and tables that are spread throughout the room. Mark tosses the tablet in his hands onto the coffee table, grinning.

‘You made it!’ he doesn’t make a move to stand up, just waves from where he’s lying on top of one of the couches.

Donghyuck can’t help but wonder how Taeyong insists that Mark is the better of the two sidekicks seeing as he has absolutely regard for keeping his identity a secret.

They’re both still in their school uniform, ties undone and relaxed, and for a quick second Donghyuck can fool himself into the fact that they’re just ordinary high school students. Then he remembers the press of the mask against his eyes, and the sight of Mark and Jaemin shivering at night in a burnt-out husk of a café.

Jaemin eases down as well, pulls his feet up and turns to Mark. His smile is broad and bright on his face, but Donghyuck knows Jaemin like the back of his hand. It’s less than the shallow, fake smile that Jaemin puts on when he’s unimpressed, something beneath it that Donghyuck can’t read.  

‘Are you seriously going to keep the mask on?’ Mark whines when he takes in Donghyuck’s attire.

‘Yep,’ Donghyuck says as he drops into an armchair, throwing his legs over the armrest. ‘I don’t have to reveal my identity if I don’t want to.’

If Jaemin knew who was behind the mask, he would have undoubtedly rolled his eyes, but instead he just clasps his hand in his lap. Donghyuck’s gaze settles on Jaemin for a moment, a small laugh almost bubbling out, before he adjusts the fit of his domino mask.

Mark lets out a small, amused laugh and it loosens Donghyuck’s shoulders. He didn’t think that Mark would force him to reveal his identity, not after the months they’d spent hiding their lives from each other, but the confirmation is a relief.

‘If you’re sure.’

‘I am,’ Donghyuck smirks, just because he can. ‘Now, what was your big plan?’

Mark leans back, throwing a pillow onto the ground as he gets more comfortable. Donghyuck can’t help but notice how much messier and disorganised this building is compared to Taeyong’s base. There are papers stacked everywhere, cords lying around and Donghyuck’s pretty sure that he can see a sword in the corner of the room.

He can see why Taeyong’s so pedantic about being clean.

‘Well,’ Mark runs a hand through his hair as he exchanges a small gaze with Jaemin. ‘I figured it’d be good for us to work together, you know?’

‘So, you want to form some sort of _team_?’ Donghyuck can’t help the little hitch of interest in him. He’d watched team after team against the various supervillains that had attacked Seoul over the years.  One day he would be on his own, unguided by Taeyong, and maybe he would have his own team.

He didn’t think it would be like this, however.

‘Yeah, I mean,’ Mark sits up straighter, ‘we’re not going to do anything big yet. But we can focus on some of the things that the hyungs miss, smaller crimes and stuff.’  

‘The local crime fighting kind of things?’ Donghyuck can’t help the snort of amusement, and it’s almost habit that has him meeting Jaemin’s eyes. His eyes dart away as soon as he can, remembering that he isn’t allowed to share this with Jaemin. ‘I suppose that’s doable.’

‘Yeah,’ Mark reaches for the tablet that he dropped down earlier. ‘We’re good at what we do, I figure we should help out the everyday people.’

‘Good at what we do?’ Donghyuck can’t help the snort of amusement. ‘Like giant _murder robots_?’

Jaemin flinches back, and Donghyuck shouldn’t feel a sense of pride at that. It’s the first time he’s acknowledged the events to their faces, and he can see the way that Mark’s jaw clenches. Of course, he can’t help but laugh.

‘Haechan,’ Mark says, trying to reassert his very, very limited authority in this situation.

‘No, he’s right,’ Jaemin says, and he pushes his chin up to look at Donghyuck straight in the eye. ‘He’s allowed to be angry, Mark. What I did wasn’t right.’

‘Yeah, but you’re sorry for it,’ Mark says, and Donghyuck only just resists rolling his eyes because _of course_ Mark would take that at face value. ‘It’s not fair for him to judge you like that.’

Donghyuck exhales, his fingers curling tight around the cup of coffee in his hands. ‘You’re not being serious,’ he can’t help scoffing the words out.

‘Mark,’ Jaemin sits up, placing a useless hand against Mark’s taught shoulders. ‘Don’t.’

‘You can’t just… _judge_ a person based on one act,’ Mark says, and Donghyuck laughs, cold and tight in his throat.

‘Three acts,’ Donghyuck corrects. He can see the tenuous bonds between himself and Mark fraying, as Mark’s jaw clenches on Jaemin’s behalf, and he tells himself he doesn’t care. ‘Three times when he terrorised Seoul. Forgive me if I’m still a little wary around him.’

Donghyuck is weaponless against one of the strongest people on Earth, and all he can do is stare him down. He holds his own, rising up to meet Mark’s dark, irate eyes, even as his heart begins to rise in his throat.

‘Mark,’ Jaemin repeats, and is firmer this time. ‘You’re overreacting.’

‘He’s saying _shit_ about you,’ Mark spits. He’s standing up and wrenches out of Jaemin’s grip to loom over Donghyuck in the chair. Donghyuck rolls out of the chair, landing on his feet as soft as he can.

‘I have _no_ obligation to trust him,’ Donghyuck says, voice cold and quiet in the room. ‘I’m not as blind as you are. But you’ve been giving your friend a free ride.’

‘I know I can trust him because of that,’ Mark argues.

Even as his jaw is clenched, and his eyes are cold, Donghyuck’s heart is caught in his throat. When he first saw Mark head towards Jaemin’s side, eyes bright with excitement and blind to _everything_ that happens around them, he saw the glimpse of this. But he thought he would be able to hide the distaste for this whole mess a bit longer.

‘You blindly trust someone who literally terrorised people, because he’s a friend, and you think you’re ready to _lead_ us in something like this?’ Donghyuck’s laugh is bitter and angry in his throat.

Mark swallows down the anger, brows drawn down into a frown. ‘You have no right,’ he repeats.

Donghyuck steps forward, tipping his chin up just that little bit to stare as firm as he could. His hands, barely controlling the shake to his body, as he smooths down his jumper.

‘I’m leaving,’ he says, and Donghyuck can’t help the way his eyes drift to where Jaemin is sitting behind Mark. Jaemin hadn’t moved from where he was curled up on his couch, jaw clenched as he looks down to the floor.

Donghyuck hates the sight of it, but looks back to Mark instead.

‘You know that I admired you, a lot,’ he says, ‘but you’re not proving to be very good at your job.’

He can’t bear to look at either of them, not when everything’s on display like it is. He knows that he’s not wrong, in his thoughts or his actions, because he can’t be. He’s the one who sees the risks, the problems, the rewards and it chokes at him that Mark is so short sighted, that Jaemin is so secretive. He turns on his heel, walking back out of the base before his insides shred themselves.

Mark and Jaemin don’t follow him and it’s only when Donghyuck’s about five minutes away when he realises he wanted them to.

 

 

Donghyuck’s heart is still thundering in his chest as he makes his way through the streets of Mapo. His phone is tucked under his chin, but Taeyong’s still not answering. It’s not unusual for him to not pick up, especially since he said he was busy, but Donghyuck’s never wanted him to pick up the phone as much as does now.  

There’s a brief, brief moment when he considers returning to Taeyong’s apartment. His fingers are still clutching at the Starbucks cup in hand, and he takes another heavy sip of the drink. Taeyong’s home isn’t his, and the empty apartment always feel that bit off-putting to Donghyuck, and he can’t bring himself to take that final bus ride to Taeyong’s home. Instead, he takes a left towards the train station.

He slips his domino mask deep into his pockets, swapping it out for a face mask to cover his mouth. He knows that he looks like a delinquent student, with his oversized jumper over his school uniform and his averted gaze. It’s almost liberating to be anonymous in this crowd, even as people mutter at his shouldering his way through the crowd.

The ride to the café doesn’t take a long time, Donghyuck flicks through his phone and his breath hitches when he spots a photo of Mark and Jaemin in school uniform. They probably took the photo before he arrived, from the time stamp, and Donghyuck feels almost disconnected as he likes the image.

He hates this tug between his selves, this split that widens within him with every moment that passes.

‘Hey, Sicheng,’ Donghyuck calls as he walks into the café, waving at the man behind the counter. He gets a single, heavy death glare in response, and Donghyuck grimaces as he weaves through the crowd of students after cheap coffee. ‘Did you miss me?’

‘It’s been a quiet week and a half without you,’ Sicheng says, voice in a low monotone as Donghyuck slips behind the counter. ‘It was nice.’

‘You missed me,’ Donghyuck says, pressing in close to hug and smile up at Sicheng. The older man huffs out a sigh, but he doesn’t reject Donghyuck’s action, and Donghyuck takes a long moment to breathe before he pulls away.

‘I didn’t,’ Sicheng repeats, and nods towards the back room. ‘Doyoung’s there, if you want to hide out.’

‘I think I might,’ Donghyuck says, crinkling his nose at the sight of college students filling the room. He can’t see a single familiar face, which is the exact opposite of what he needs right now.

Donghyuck slips through the wide swinging doors that lead into the back kitchen and exhales quietly. He doesn’t know why, but there’s almost a relief in being in the café that eases the relief that presses at his lungs at the thought of his two friends and classmates.

‘Sicheng looks like he wants to kill me,’ Donghyuck says to Doyoung.

The older man looks up from the cake that he’s icing and raises a single eyebrow. ‘Think it might have anything to do with the Starbucks cup in your hand?’

Donghyuck curses, drawing a laugh from Doyoung’s wide smile, and looks around. If he puts it deep enough in a bin, maybe Taeil and Taeyong won’t notice it in the trash. He could get a permanent marker and completely deface it? Or he could just soak it in water until it goes all smooshy?

No, it’s designed for liquid. Defacing might be the way to go.

Doyoung laughs at the panic in Donghyuck’s pose as he drains the drink, realising what he’s implicated himself in. Taeyong, he’s not too worried about, but Taeil could erase Donghyuck from the very plane of existence and he would if he wanted.

‘Remember me fondly,’ Donghyuck says, looking at the cup in his hand.

‘I’ll do my best to,’ Doyoung says, and he plucks it from Donghyuck’s hand to chuck it on the stove, watching the paper burn. Donghyuck can’t help the small laugh that breaks through him, cracking the tension that still edges on his mind.

‘Thanks,’ he mutters, climbing onto a stool that Doyoung keeps in the kitchen.

 ‘How was school?’ Doyoung asks, the question coming out careless rather than awkward and Donghyuck appreciates it. He’s not sure if Doyoung actually cares about the answer, but he seems to be willing to let Donghyuck talk.

‘Weird, as usual,’ he says with a shrug.

The thing is that Donghyuck’s not _that_ close to Doyoung, all he knows is that older man is retired and has been for several months. But he knows that he can trust him, Taeyong and Taeil have assured him of it even as Doyoung slipped by in silence.

He’s almost surprised when Doyoung looks up from the cake and raises his eyebrow, ‘How so?’

‘It’s just?’ he runs his hands through his hair, pulling his sleeves over his fingers. ‘You know that I go to school with Mark and Jaemin, right?’

‘Taeyong mentioned it,’ Doyoung nods, grabbing a giant knife from the table as he begins to scrape away the icing. ‘Friends with Mark, right?’

‘And roommates with Jaemin,’ Donghyuck wrinkles his nose. ‘Or at least, I’m supposed to be.’

‘That’s a problem?’

‘I just, don’t really know how to talk to them,’ he explains, the words tripping out of him even though he’s repeated this so many times to Taeil and Taeyong. ‘There are so many massive secrets between us, and I don’t know where I’m supposed to sit with them. As a student, or as a sidekick?’

 ‘It’s tough, isn’t it?’ Doyoung sighs. ‘Working out where you sit in the big scheme of things.’

‘Yeah.’

‘Why do you find it so hard?’ Doyoung asks, piping a new layer of icing onto the cake. ‘Talking to them?’

‘I just… keep pretending,’ Donghyuck says, fiddling with his jumper again because he doesn’t want to look at Doyoung. ‘I have to pretend to be happy and friendly and I can’t keep it together. How _can I?’_

‘You don’t have to,’ Doyoung says, and he drops the bag of icing down. He wanders around the table and leans against the counter to look up at Donghyuck. ‘I mean, I can’t guarantee what it’s going to be at school, but as Yeolhana? You don’t have to.’

A tightness in his chest begins to loosen as Doyoung’s serious, dark eyes meets Donghyuck’s. They’re kind, Donghyuck is almost surprised by that fact, and he lets out another slow exhale that shakes through his entire body.

‘Aren’t I supposed to be the good guy though?’

‘Being the good guy,’ Doyoung says quietly, ‘means doing the right thing. It doesn’t mean pandering or being sweet. I know that Taeyong’s that sort of guy, the one that’s as good on the field as he is off, but you don’t have to be.’

‘Everyone was really nice when I joined the team,’ Donghyuck’s voice is small and soft and Doyoung sighs.

‘You have no obligation to be nice,’ Doyoung catches Donghyuck’s fingers, pulling them into his lap. ‘Your job is to look after the people, to _protect_ , it’s not to be nice.’

‘I snapped at him, earlier.’

‘Jaemin?’

‘Mark,’ Donghyuck corrects and Doyoung actually snorts out a laugh, questioning tilt to his eyebrow. ‘It was about Jaemin, but I’ve never fought with Mark before.’

‘I can’t blame you,’ Doyoung says with a shrug. ‘They’re close, aren’t they?’

‘They are now. I mean, it’s _stupid_ , he’s just so blindly trusting. Jaemin blew up the store, he attacked a _university_. And Mark just lets that all go because he and Jaemin know each other at school?’

‘Remember how I said you had hero sense? This is what I mean,’ Doyoung says and it makes Donghyuck flush just that little bit under the eyes of the older man. ‘You know the right way to go about it, and you’re not letting your emotions get in the way.’ He pauses. ‘Well, _you are_ , but not in a bad way. It’s not meant to be easy though, it _never_ is. You just have to roll with it, get used to it and hope that you know what you’re doing.’

‘Is that what I’m supposed to do?’ Donghyuck exhales, looking at the man. ‘Just keep going?’

‘Yeah,’ Doyoung says with a grin. ‘It sucks but it’s how you have to do it. We’re not lying, when we say you can talk to us. I know that I’m not Taeyong or anything, but I’ve been where you are and I have the time to talk. So, if you need to, I’m here. We’ll help you through it, even if you have to be rude at Mark to do it.’

‘Thanks,’ Donghyuck mutters and he looks down at his knees again.

‘Tell me Donghyuck,’ Doyoung says, stepping away. ‘Do you think that Jaemin is a good person?’

Donghyuck’s words stick in his throat and Doyoung turns away from him for a moment to return to his cake.

‘Not is he a good friend, is he friendly and kind. Is he _good_? Can you say, definitively, that he has the potential to be a hero?’

Donghyuck thinks of Na Jaemin, with his sharp sarcasm and fidgeting boredom. He thinks of his best friend, who watches scary movies with him late at night, and the robot that held him over a vat of acid.

‘I hope so,’ he exhales.

 

 

Donghyuck’s been pushed out into the main room of the café when Taeyong finally arrives. Doyoung is the one puttering around the edge of the coffee shop, whilst Sicheng has moved over to the table to help Donghyuck with his Chinese homework.

It’s slow, and difficult, but Sicheng is surprisingly patient.

Taeyong’s surprisingly well dressed, and Donghyuck almost laughs at the sight of his mentor in the button up shirt. But then a young, lanky boy walks in after him and Donghyuck’s surprise catches his teasing jibe in his throat.

‘Everyone, this is Jisung,’ Taeyong says, hand pressing between Jisung’s shoulder blades. ‘Jisung, this is Doyoung, Sicheng and Donghyuck.’

Donghyuck gives a sort of half wave and the boy’s dark eyes lock on him. He’s only a little bit younger than Donghyuck (which makes him _young_ ) and he barely moves, still as a statue. His shoulders are pressed back, and his chin is tilted up, no sign of a smile twitching at his lips.

It’s a posture Donghyuck’s seen before, ready to fight in a moment.

‘Nice to meet you,’ Sicheng says. Donghyuck’s fairly sure that for all that Sicheng insists that he’s human and normal, he has a superpower in knowing when something is superhero business related. His entire body almost locks up, and he walks away as soon as he can.

Donghyuck can’t help snorting out a laugh, turning down to his homework.

He wished he was as unaffected as Sicheng.

‘Come sit with Donghyuck,’ Taeyong suggests, and he’s rubbing at his neck with that awkward smile that Donghyuck is so used to. ‘We should probably talk a little bit?’

Donghyuck closes his textbooks, fingers fiddling with the edges of the pages as Jisung slips into the chair with the same stiff shoulders and expression. The boy’s hands settle on the table lightly, and Donghyuck couldn’t help the small shudder.

‘You heard about the kaiju that attacked Japan today?’ Taeyong asks, not so much an inquiry as a confirmation from Donghyuck. Donghyuck nods, even though he’s not too sure what it has to do with the boy in front of him. ‘It’s not an isolated incident.’

Donghyuck’s gaze flies up, eye widening. ‘It’s not going to come to Seoul, is it?’

‘We doubt it,’ Taeyong shakes his head. ‘But U-know and Max had to fly out today to start their investigation.’

‘Your old mentor?’ Donghyuck’s still starstruck by them, the original heroes of Seoul. Only two of the original team remained, but they were still some of the most prolific heroes in the country.

‘Yes, and Jisung’s current mentors.’

‘I could have gone with him,’ Jisung mutters, the first words that Donghyuck hears from the boy. They’re almost too soft, a raspy edge to a voice that’s lower than Donghyuck’s own. Taeyong sucks a tsk through his lips, which makes Donghyuck sure that they’ve had this discussion before.

‘Yunho wanted you to stay with me in Seoul, that’s his final decision,’ Taeyong’s voice isn’t unkind but it’s got the sort of steel to it that Donghyuck’s well used to. His own spine straightens at the words, and he looks across at the pair.

Taeyong runs his hands through his hair. ‘Donghyuck, we’re going to be working with Jisung until the kaiju situation in Japan has been resolved.’

‘Okay,’ Donghyuck draws out. ‘So, training together and stuff like that?’

‘Exactly,’ Taeyong says, and Jisung’s face curls into a little frustrated snarl and it’s almost adorable on his face. ‘He’s going to be living with us as well.’

‘Cool, this is going to be fun,’ he says, forcing a smile on his face. It’ll be good, he knows, to learn with the younger boy but there’s something so cold about his face and posture that has Donghyuck feel just that bit off kilter and on the edge of his seat.

‘I doubt it,’ Jisung says, and he turns to Taeyong again. ‘I don’t see why I need to be supervised, I know what I’m doing.’

‘You’re too young to be left alone,’ Taeyong says, and Jisung looks so offended that it’s almost enough for Donghyuck to laugh again. But it falls short in his throat at Taeyong’s unsure gaze, at the way Jisung looks so fierce in the harmless little café.

‘Taeyong,’ Doyoung calls from across the room, and Taeyong’s gaze flies to the dark-haired man at the otherside of the room. ‘Can I talk to you, a moment?’

Taeyong turns back, and Donghyuck can only nod in the hope that it assures the older man before Taeyong’s walking away from him.

‘So, you’re a sidekick,’ Donghyuck says, fingers tapping out a light beat against the table. ‘That’s cool. How long have you been training for?’

‘As long as I can remember,’ Jisung says, voice short as he looks up across at Donghyuck.

‘Right,’ Donghyuck exhales. ‘But training with us is going to be interest, different probably. There’s a lot of different people on our team.’

There’s a pause in Jisung’s eyes, a flicker as he leans forward just that little bit. ‘Have you trained with them at all?’

Donghyuck coughs out a laugh. The boy looks about as excited as he did when he first met the rest of the teams, even though it’s hidden behind the icy demeanour. Jisung’s barely moved in the moments he’s been sitting there, and it’s probably the largest of them all.

‘I’ve patrolled with them, but I haven’t properly trained with them. Taeyong suits me the best, as a mentor, so I’ve never asked to spend too much time around everyone else.’

There’s a little tilt to Jisung’s head and it’s so off-putting, so strange, that Donghyuck has to look away for a moment. Intense, he thinks, is the best way to describe what Jisung is like.

‘What are they like? I’ve studied them and their methods, but you learn more from interacting with them in person,’ Jisung’s voice is so flat and serious, Donghyuck’s rises in response.

‘Studied them?’ Donghyuck can’t help the cough of surprise. ‘That’s intense.’

Jisung starts, drawing away from Donghyuck as his face starts to shutter. Donghyuck flounders, because he can see that interest fade in the boy’s eyes and it’s being replaced by something that’s definitely defensive.

‘I mean, you do you? I knew way too much from them anyway, before I started training with Taeyong.’ He swallows and it’s barely enough to get the boy’s attention back on him, but it does. Doyoung’s words from literally an hour earlier ring in his head, telling him that he doesn’t _have_ to be nice.

But this kid is tough and small and there are no expectations hanging over him and perhaps Donghyuck’s a little desperate to have someone in his corner for once. He doesn’t have to be nice, but he wants to be, in this moment.

‘What are they like?’ Jisung asks.

‘They’re all pretty cool,’ Donghyuck admits. ‘I mean, it’s a really large team so there’s a lot of people to cover, but overall everyone I’ve patrolled with are _really_ good at their jobs? I mean, man, when I first saw Dul flying, I thought I was about to cry? He’s like, an _actual_ superhero, like the ones you see on TV and all that.’

‘He’s the alien one, isn’t he?’ Jisung’s voice catches and his shoulder’s have lost that harsh tilt. ‘Super strength, super speed?’

‘ _Laser eyes_ ,’ Donghyuck breathes, and Jisung’s eyes widen. ‘I know, right?’ 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [twt](http://twitter.com/neocitz) | [cc](http://curiouscat.me/neocitz)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm really, really sorry about the delay on this! this chapter did take a little while to come out, i've been on and off sick for ages and just took a bit longer to get through some scenes 
> 
> more importantly: this fic is now **marked as gen** , i'm sorry to everyone and anyone who will be upset by this but it's a necessary part of the story. as far as my overall _and_ detailed planning has gone, the platonic relationships of this fic are far more important and relevant to the plot and story and i'm not sure if i will reintroduce a romantic element at all.
> 
> this does not diminish donghyuck and mark's platonic relationship in the fic, that will not be removed or replaced, it plays out the same no matter what. but this fic is ultimately not a romantic fic, nor are the conflicts based on mark and donghyuck's relationship, and i don't want to force or pretend it is like i did with the last fic, so i've removed the tag. i hope this explanation is clear enough in explaining my intention of emphasising the importance of the platonic friendships and brotherhood of this verse. i hope you still read and enjoy this fic. 
> 
> (and for those who saw me tossing up potential romantic ships that suited the fic more, those are also no longer contenders for the same reason markhyuck is not) 
> 
> massive shout out to nini for beta-ing the first half of this chapter

‘Seriously?’ Donghyuck hisses as he slips the domino mask over his eyes. ‘Why does the kid get a cool suit?’

Jisung adjusts the fit of his suit, settling the thin, Kevlar-enforced fabric into place. Donghyuck feels like an idiot, wearing his combination of thermals and activewear and the few armoured plates that protect his organs.

‘Because U-Know and Max have a lot more money they we do,’ Taeyong laughs. It’s not even bitter, Taeyong’s a better person that Donghyuck will ever be. He pulls on his gloves, flexing his hands once in the soft, reinforced material. ‘What we have works for us, though.’

Still, Jisung looks like a superhero, with his sleek lines and his colour scheme and his _logo_ on his chest.

‘I’m not saying that I want something like that, but I do,’ Donghyuck sniffs, adjusting the utility belt on his hips.

‘One day,’ Taeyong says, so blithely that Donghyuck is sure that he’s just _humouring_ Donghyuck. ‘But for now, we’re more concerned with making sure you’re protected than whether or not you’re stylish.’

‘I guess,’ Donghyuck rolls his eyes, but his smile curls up a little bit as he nudges Taeyong. ‘Did you ever have something like that, Hyung?’

For all that Donghyuck knows about Taeyong as a hero, his history as a sidekick is far more well-hidden.  He almost wishes he did know, wishes he paid more attention growing up. Taeyong’s tenure as a sidekick was so long ago (at least to Donghyuck), and Donghyuck was always more invested in the heroes than the kids that ran by their sides.

He regrets that, now.

‘I had a suit,’ Taeyong says, suddenly fascinated with his utility belt as he tucks the new escrima sticks into them. ‘It was pretty standard, something that had been developed for me by the company that sponsored the team.’

‘Do you have any photos?’

‘Nope,’ Taeyong’s ears are red and Donghyuck can’t help smirking. He’s sure that Yuta will have some photos, somewhere. ‘None ever existed, for security reasons.’

‘Sure,’ Donghyuck snorts. If a video of Taeyong rapping still exists, he’s sure that a video or photo of Taeyong in a suit definitely exists. ‘I’m sure that there are no traces if it ever existing.’

Jisung coughs, slipping his own utility belt on, a strangled sound that has Donghyuck smirking a little bit. He doesn’t make eye contact with either of them, just stubbornly stares out at the entrance to the lair. ‘We should go,’ he says and Taeyong nods in agreement before he’s adjusting his boots one final time.

‘You ready?’ he asks Donghyuck. Donghyuck just nods, there’s not much he needs to do in terms of preparation once he’s dressed. His comm is tucked into his ear and there’s a screeching moment of feedback when Taeyong turns it on before they’re closing the door of the lair behind them.

‘Do we know what we’re looking for tonight?’ Donghyuck asks, fiddling with his earpiece.

‘ _You’re just patrolling, tonight_ ,’ a voice crackles through the comms and it takes Donghyuck a moment to realise that it’s Hansol’s voice. ‘ _We’re keeping an eye on the police radios and the news channels, but there doesn’t look to be much today.’_

‘We?’ Taeyong says as they slip into the darkness of the shadows surrounding them. ‘Yeolset?’

‘ _I’m here_.’ Donghyuck doesn’t recognise the number, but he recognises the voice. Jaemin’s tone is more level than Donghyuck’s heard it before, even when approaching Jaemin as Haechan and Yeolhana.

‘Good,’ Taeyong’s dark eyes flash to meet Donghyuck’s for a moment, and there’s a little nod. Donghyuck’s lips curl up in the corners, not a smile but something that presses at the corner. He hasn’t talked to Mark or Jaemin since the argument, not as Donghyuck or Haechan, and the relief is so intertwined with the anxiousness that he doesn’t know where one starts and the other ends.

‘ _We’ll be on the line if you need us,’_ Hansol says, and it’s meant to be a reassurance but it’s off-putting to Donghyuck as he looks to the three of them. He knows that Hansol’s got a way into most of the surveillance around the city, but that means that Jaemin does as well.

He looks at Taeyong, following him through the darkness of the alley that will lead them on the start of their patrol. The man doesn’t look affected by Jaemin observing them, apart from the small crease between his eyebrows that dips beneath the edge of his mask. Donghyuck doesn’t want to think about how many times Jaemin had been watching him and he didn’t know.

‘Is it always active?’ he asks, tapping the small black device in his ear. It’s only his second time using this, the first not even properly as he stood next to a frenzied but efficient Hansol.

‘It’s more like a walkie-talkie,’ Taeyong explains, voice quiet and low as they begin to ascend up the side of a building. Jisung leaps with ease, and Donghyuck’s impressed enough that he lets out a low whistle of approval. He, on the other hand, has to take a ladder. ‘Just press the switch by the ear.’

‘Got it,’ Donghyuck says. He doesn’t dare trying to test it now, comfortable as he’s gotten on a ladder, and follows Taeyong and Jisung as close as he can. They’ve already thrown themselves over the side of the building, standing at the edge waiting for Donghyuck to catch up.

Donghyuck grins when he finally joins the other two at the top of the building, looking over the stretch of Mapo that they’re patrolling for the night. Seoul isn’t a city of supervillains, not even that much of a city of crime, but it’s a city that’s his to protect.

 

 

Jisung is _good_ , there’s no way to deny that. Donghyuck could see it, in the stiffness of his shoulders and the tilt of his chin, when he first met the younger boy. But it’s different to see it in action.

Donghyuck can’t help but be awed, because Jisung is probably almost better than Taeyong. He flies through the air without fear or worry, breaking his fall with a soft roll and a barely noticeable grunt. There’s no hesitation, not in his eyes or his body, as he throws himself forward, only looking back to make sure that he’s not too far ahead of Taeyong and Donghyuck.

Taeyong, however, is worried. There’s a clenched edge to his chin and his attention is split, looking forward to Jisung and back to Donghyuck. Donghyuck’s not sure if Jisung has a comm in, but he wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t. The young boy is good at what he does, but he’s not said a word since they set off into the night.

‘Don’t worry so much,’ Donghyuck says over the headset, even though he knows it’s useless. Taeyong, at his very core, is a worrier and the pair of them have built a partnership on the delicate balance of Taeyong worrying and Donghyuck learning.

‘Are you keeping up alright?’ Taeyong’s voice is soft, crackling in Donghyuck’s ears and he doesn’t sound the least bit out of breath. It’s almost annoying, if not for the fact that Donghyuck knows how many years of training Taeyong’s put into this.

‘I’m fine,’ Donghyuck promises, even as he struggles to find the nooks and crannies that pull him up to where they’re standing. It’s probably better for his training that he does this himself, there’s only so long that he can rely on Taeyong’s guidance when he’s already got his foundations. ‘Just give me a minute.’

He has to pause halfway, lost for a moment because he doesn’t have the lightness that Taeyong and Jisung both possess. He can’t throw himself upwards, defy gravity with his upper body strength like they do, but scrabbles against the brick before pushing against a small ledge. When he finally joins Taeyong and Jisung, he’s actually out of breath.

‘All good,’ Donghyuck says, exhaling as he drops down on the edge of the building. ‘We’re observing here, am I right?’

‘We are,’ Taeyong’s eyes are sharp as he looks over the crowds of people whose nights are only just starting. ‘Can you do the check in? I need to ask Jisung some things.’

Donghyuck nods, watching Taeyong walk up to the young boy. Jisung looks the part, young as he was, as he crouches on the edge of the building. He has none of the coltishness, the unease that Donghyuck had felt when he was in the earlier years of his teens, assured and comfortable in a body that’s been trained for combat and more.

He’s almost jealous.

‘Are you there?’ he says, turning away to lean against the small fence on the top of the building. There’s a whine of feedback before a voice cuts through the headset.

‘ _Still here_ ,’ Jaemin says. Donghyuck wonders if Hansol’s making him answer, if they’re both being forced into understanding and answering for each other. Taeil has made almost no indication that he wants Donghyuck, Jaemin and Mark to work together as a team. He hasn’t even decided whether or not Jaemin can be trusted.

But Mark’s right, as much as Donghyuck hates to admit it, the pair of them have to work together because it could be a part of their someday.

‘Just letting you know that we’re at checkpoint four.’ Donghyuck’s own voice is stiff in his throat, and if Taeyong notices he doesn’t say anything from where he’s softly whispering with Jisung.

‘ _Finding you guys_ ,’ Donghyuck can hear the click of fingers against the keys before Jaemin lets out that little satisfied hum he makes when he answers a math problem right, ‘ _got a lock on you.’_

‘Great,’ Donghyuck mutters, throwing a glance around to see if he can spot the camera that Jaemin’s undoubtedly watching him through. ‘Just what I want.’

Jaemin’s awkward laugh crackles through the headset, cutting off part way through and Donghyuck swallows. He ignores the feeling in the pit of his stomach, the slight pull that makes him feel like he could be sick, and instead focuses on what’s in front of him. He wanders over to where Jisung and Taeyong are talking.

‘What about the guy on the east?’ Taeyong asking, pointing to a figure that Donghyuck can barely see. Jisung shakes his head before pointing to someone else, muttering something about them probably being on a date.

Donghyuck settles in, for the moment content to watch both men.

 

 

Renjun shoves Donghyuck between the shoulder-blades. Hard.

‘You’re not escaping this,’ he grunts because Donghyuck is small but Renjun is smaller. And for all that Renjun is secretly an ox and deceptively strong, Donghyuck prides himself on being very, very stubborn.

‘I’m not going,’ he repeats, crossing his arms and leaning back onto Renjun.

‘You said you had a good time last time,’ Renjun protests and it’s a quick prod to Donghyuck’s side that has the younger boy squirming off of Renjun and skittering a few steps ahead. ‘I thought we agreed this was a _good_ plan.’

That was before Donghyuck and Mark had spat words at each other, quick fire that makes Donghyuck burn with irritation and anger when he sees the other boy.  He knows that Mark doesn’t know they were fighting, and that makes it worse because Donghyuck has to force a smile and understanding on his face.

‘Well, now I think it’s a _terrible_ plan,’ Donghyuck tries to slide past Renjun, and he thought that after months of sidekick training he would have better reflexes. But Renjun is quick and stares Donghyuck down with those fierce, kind eyes.

‘We committed to this, and we’re not backing out because you’re a whiny baby,’ he says, hands on his hips. There’s a firmness to him that makes Donghyuck think of Sicheng, the way the man is silent and kind and lovely. They’d get along, he thinks for the briefest of moments.

But his life is segmented and cracked down the middle, he can’t let Renjun into the spiralling confusion that comes with it.

‘Can’t I be clean up crew?’ Donghyuck whines for what must be the sixteen time since Renjun announced they were doing this. It earns him another glare and Donghyuck tucks his chin down, knowing there’s very little point in trying to fight Renjun.  ‘Fine I won’t be on clean up crew.’

He deliberately pouts but Renjun does not care at all, pushing Donghyuck back towards the direction of the art department.

‘You guys made it!’ Mark grins and he walks around some weird boxes that are, yet again, in the process of being painted black. He slings an arm around Renjun’s shoulders, but Donghyuck ducks away, pretending to look at the different sets that are in the middle of being constructed.

It’s been a week of even more careful manoeuvres around the school than usual on Donghyuck’s behalf. He knows, logically, that Mark has no clue about the fight that they’d had, but that almost makes it worse for Donghyuck. The thought of having to face Mark has had Donghyuck doing everything from _actually_ going to the library and studying to hanging out of a third-floor window while Mark walks by with his older friends.

‘Yeah, we’ve been a bit overloaded with homework,’ Renjun lies so easily, though Donghyuck can see the small twitch of guilt in his eyes when he glances at the other boy.

‘That’s fine, as long as you guys show up when you can.’ Mark is way too friendly, last year they were under strict instructions to turn up or risk being reported to the teachers. ‘We’re making good progress as is.’

‘So, we’re on track for the festival?’ Renjun asks, taking in the various props that they’ve started preparing.  

‘We might actually be done ahead of schedule.’

‘The more we do now, the less we have to do in a month’s time,’ Renjun laughs.

Donghyuck lets out his own sound of agreement, looking back to the two boys with a smile that feels too bright on his face. ‘Don’t want to be leaving it all to the last minute,’ he says, reaching for the oversized shirt to wear as a smock.

Mark lets out a snorting giggle, too-loud between the three of them, before he says, ‘It’s definitely going to be better than last year.’

Donghyuck can’t help the small twitch of a smile. He remembers Jeno’s wide eyes as he chased around the school the hours leading up to the school festival. The boy had makeup streaked across his face from where he’d been getting ready before realising there were no drinks for one of the stalls.

‘Anything would be better than last year,’ Renjun rolls his eyes, though there’s a small twitch to his lips that Donghyuck spots in a second. He slaps his thigh, laughter bubbling out and loud because he also remembers the disaster that Jeno had been chasing _after_.

‘I’m pretty sure I remember _someone_ tackling their classmates because they hadn’t done half the things they were supposed to do,’ he says to Renjun’s scowling face. Mark slaps him on the shoulder, drawing Donghyuck in as he points to Renjun. Donghyuck’s shoulders are tense, and the corners of his smile draw back to feel too tight.

‘Dude, and he totally spilt everything on Kim-seonsaengnim!’

Donghyuck snorts out a laugh, wishing it felt more real than it did.

 

 

If Donghyuck’s learnt one thing since being taken under Taeyong’s wing as his sidekick, it’s never _ever_ go grocery shopping with any other member of their team.

Today, they’ve got both Ten and Johnny with them.

Taeyong and Donghyuck keep a piece of paper tacked to the fridge, and they use that to plan out their meals for the entire week. Thanks to their schedule of crime-fighting, patrolling and work, there isn’t actually that much time for them to do their grocery shopping during the week and they have to resort to a single day to do all their groceries.

Donghyuck’s meant to help with the actual gathering of the groceries when they do their shopping trip, but it often doesn’t take him longer than three minutes to get distracted.

Instead, he wanders around and tries to drop as many snacks into Taeyong’s trolley as he can without Taeyong noticing. Once he had gotten away with every flavour of Pepero before Taeyong had realised how much junk food was hidden under the organic greens.  With Ten and Johnny and Jisung joining them, Donghyuck’s taken his own basket in hand to carry his junk food.

Johnny is a sucker for a smile and a sweet question, Donghyuck’s realised over the past few weeks.  And It’s important for him to impart this wisdom on to the younger generation.

‘So,’ Donghyuck leans into Jisung side as Taeyong gets a trolley, ‘the tall one is Dul, and the loud one is Ilgop.’ Honestly, they’re both loud but Ten is loud in spirit and in personality in a way that Johnny is not. It’s probably one of the things that makes him so amiable and unassuming under the pressures of the battles.

‘Really?’ Jisung’s not so much clinging to him, but he’s smaller and shyer in the light of day and he’s refusing to let Donghyuck get more than a few steps away from him.  

‘Yep, they’re called Johnny and Ten,’ the English names roll off his tongue, just loud enough that both men look at him. Donghyuck tips his chin up, grinning at them just because he can, but Jisung pulls away again. ‘They’re _fine_.’

‘They’re _Dul and Ilgop_ ,’ Jisung hisses. ‘They’re like… two of the most powerful heroes in Seoul.’

‘Not barely, no-one’s as powerful as EXO,’ Donghyuck dismisses with a wave. He drags Jisung that bit closer, even though the boy plants his heels in the ground. ‘And they’re just regular people right now. Johnny even wears jorts sometimes because he’s secretly an old man inside.’

‘They’re functional, and fashionable,’ Johnny argues.

‘No,’ Ten looks up at his boyfriend, eyes wide with horror. ‘They’re not fashionable. And they’re barely functional.’

‘See,’ Donghyuck nudges Jisung, ‘normal people, arguing and going to college.’

‘ _College?’_  Jisung’s shoulders barely lose their tension, but he steps a little bit further away from Donghyuck. He’s no longer trying to hide his taller body behind Donghyuck’s, instead peering carefully at the couple.

‘Yeah, education is important,’ Donghyuck doesn’t realise he’s parroting Taeyong until after he’s finished saying the words, feeling his nose scrunch up. ‘Ten, Johnny, Jaehyun, Hansol and Yuta are all finishing up college right now. Only Ten on hiatus though, something about bad time management.’

Donghyuck doesn’t know, Taeyong does all his time management for him.

‘Why do superheroes need to go to _school_?’ Jisung asks, and its not even with the appropriate amount of disgust at the thought of being in a classroom. His brow is furrowed a little bit as he looks at Donghyuck. ‘Do you go to school?’

‘Yeah,’ Donghyuck’s eyes dart to an arguing Ten and Johnny for a second before back to Jisung. ‘That’s what I do during the day?’

Jisung looks blinks, taken aback, and Donghyuck watches as his eyes light up and he lets out a small gasp of realisation. It’s frustrating, he thinks, how cute Jisung can be sometimes. He can barely keep the smile from pulling at his cheeks, even as the confused boy follows him through the store.

‘Why are you two here?’ Taeyong groans, pushing the trolley forward as he looks at Johnny and Ten. ‘Can’t you leave me alone?’ He casts an apologetic look at Donghyuck and Jisung, but Donghyuck can only give a small shrug in response.

‘No,’ Johnny grins, broad and bright and sneaky. Donghyuck swallows a laugh as Johnny winds his arm around Ten, pulling him in a bit closer as they walk to Taeyong. ‘We just need your help with these things, don’t we babe?’  

Argument over jorts forgotten, Ten smiles up at Johnny with such a parody of innocence on his face that it makes Donghyuck feel worries. He knows from whispers that Ten and Johnny aren’t just together, they’re the couple that no-one wants to be around because they’re disgustingly domestic. Apparently, there are even nicknames so sickly sweet, it makes villains vomit.

These whispers come from Taeyong.

‘Must you do this, now?’ he mutters. ‘I just wanted to get some food for me and the boys.’

‘Are you saying that we’re not worth your time, Taeyong?’ Ten gasps. ‘Are you saying you want me and Johnny to live on another week of greasy takeout and no vegetables? Babe, I don’t think he cares about our well-being.’

Donghyuck’s laughter bubbles out of him, soft so only Jisung can really hear it. Taeyong is so composed in every part of his life, until his friends press and push and reduce him to frustration and irritation and _worry_. Ten hit exactly what he needed to, as Taeyong’s already muttering about bad life choices.

It takes Donghyuck a moment to collect himself again, sending a small smirk in Jisung’s direction. The boy eyes haven’t gotten any smaller, shock still laced through his gaze as he watches Taeyong’s scowling figure.  ‘See,’ he murmurs, ‘ _normal.’_

Then he turns back to the three men.

‘Can you guys not?’ Donghyuck sneers, just to be difficult. It draws Ten’s attention to him and Jisung, and the boy shrinks away from him a little bit. Ordinarily, Donghyuck would be amused at the thought of someone being _afraid_ of one of the hyungs, but Ten is the exception. ‘You’re going to scare the children.’

‘What children?’ Ten asks, crossing his arms in front of him.

‘Us,’ Donghyuck sniffs, before dragging Jisung towards the snack aisle. He can hear Taeyong yelling behind them, telling them they’re only allowed to buy one thing each. Donghyuck elects to ignore him.

 

 

Donghyuck leaves Jisung with the protein powders, something that he apparently learnt from U-Know, to go explore some of the other aisle in the supermarket. Instead he heads to the ramyeon aisle, great and glorious source of instant sustenance, when he bumps into what can only be described as a giant.

It would probably be more accurate to say he is almost bowled over by a giant.

‘Whoah, I’m sorry man,’ the giant steadies Donghyuck, massive smile on his face despite the fact he almost sent Donghyuck flying down to the floor. Donghyuck can’t help the exhale, glad that he made a fool of himself in front of a random business man and not one of the others he’d come to the store with. ‘I should pay more attention to where I’m going.’

‘You should,’ Donghyuck sniffs, drawing back before he can get bulldozed again. He looks up at the man, who he realises after a moment is probably around Sicheng’s age and not nearly as old as he previously thought. ‘I know you’re high up, but you should probably stop looking at the clouds all the time.

The man laughs again, and it’s loud enough that an older lady gives them a dirty look for interrupting the sanctity of her shopping trip. She stalks past them as well as she can, more like an affronted shuffle, and the giant presses his lips together to try and stifle his amusement.

‘For real though man,’ the giant says, ‘I’m super sorry about knocking you over like that.’

He runs a hand through his hair, and he does genuinely look apologetic. It’s not even a regular apology, his hair is floppy and his eyes are wide and he almost looks a little bit like a lost puppy dog. It’s an openness and newness that Donghyuck’s not used to, refreshing even under the bleak lights of the supermarket.

‘It’s okay,’ Donghyuck says. The words don’t feel like a lie tripping off his tongue and he realises that he actually does mean what he’s saying. He can’t help stopping where he stands, hands gripping the edge of his basket before he smiles and looks up at the man. ‘It’s _actually_ okay.’

‘Let me make it up to you,’ he offers. There’s something disarmingly charming about this man, the way his smile grows broad across his face and the way his sweeps hair back again. ‘It was really dumb of me.’

Donghyuck raises an eyebrow. Renjun likes to say that Donghyuck is a thieving bastard, Donghyuck likes to call himself opportunistic. There’s this nice older man offering to make something up to him, and Donghyuck is in a supermarket with an overprotective mentor who doesn’t like refined sugar, oil or empty carbohydrates.

‘A couple of packets of honey butter chips then,’ he bargains.

The man barks out another higher pitched laugh. ‘ _That’s_ what you want? Honey butter chips?’

‘That’s all I need,’ he insists, because Donghyuck is not an asshole. ‘My brother won’t let me get them.’

‘Sounds boring,’ the man crinkles up his nose in disgust. It makes him look younger again, Donghyuck unable to place anything but a general older than him but not as dinosaur as Taeyong. It’s different, and Donghyuck doesn’t mind it. ‘I’ll buy you some coke or something as well.’

Donghyuck whistles, ‘Pulling out the big bucks for knocking over a kid. You’re practically a hero.’ He can’t help the snort of amusement as he says it, the older man joining with his laughter as they begin to make their way through the supermarket to the snack aisle.

‘I’m a good guy,’ the man insists. ‘Gotta pay my debts.’

Donghyuck can’t help the laughter that courses through him, following the older man. He can see how this man knocked him over, from the way he wanders through the store without looking where he’s going.

‘Donghyuck,’ a hand clasps on his shoulder and Donghyuck looks up at Johnny. His usually friendly face is flat and focussed. Scary, Donghyuck would even venture to say it was scary. ‘Who’s your friend?’

‘This is…’

‘Wong Yukhei,’ the man fills in with his bright smile, not even phased by Johnny’s face. ‘I bumped him down so I owe him chips.’

‘And coke,’ Donghyuck pipes up, grinning at Johnny who raises an eyebrow. There’s a moment before Johnny shakes his head, and then Donghyuck’s being dragged away by something as strong as a rhinoceros.

‘We’re going,’ Johnny says, voice firm and Donghyuck barely resists rolling his eys.

‘I’ll see you around, yeah?’ Yukhei says tossing the chips at Donghyuck. Donghyuck barely get out a shouted _thanks_ before he’s pulled around the corner.

 

 

Donghyuck’s preparing for another night of chasing after Jisung and Taeyong, watching the pair of them adapt to each other and learning from the pair of them. His homework is spread over the desks in front of him, having spent the hours between school and patrolling hiding out in the lair.

He’s finishing up with his maths homework, a series of question sets that would ordinarily make him want to punch himself in the face, when Taeyong bursts into the lair. The man stalks past, unwrapping his scarf and dropping it to the floor.

‘Taeyong?’

‘We’ve got to get moving,’ he says.

‘What’s going on?’ Donghyuck shoots up for his desk, casting a look to where Jisung trails behind him. The boy shrugs, dropping his bag down onto the table and stripping out of his hoodie to his uniform. ‘Jisung?’

‘I don’t know,’ he shrugs, voice a whisper. ‘He got a phone call at the café and rushed out.’

‘Just make sure you get ready,’ Donghyuck says.

He doesn’t bother putting his books away, just stumbles after Taeyong out of the living room. There’s a trail of clothes, and Donghyuck follows it to where Taeyong’s pulling on his costume in the side room that somehow become their changing room.

Donghyuck strips off his own school uniform, reaching for the fingerless gloves and kneepads he keeps in the side room.

‘What’s happening?’ he asks, not daring to look at Taeyong as he begins to get himself as ready for their night.

‘Do you remember the four men in the warehouse?’ Taeyong says, sweeping his hair up and out of his face as he rummages around for his utility belt. ‘From a couple of weeks ago?’

‘The ones with the poisonous plant things? They were arrested, weren’t they?’

‘That’s what we thought,’ Taeyong sighs. ‘Hansol’s contact in the police just let us know that they had never been charged.’

‘What do you mean?’ Donghyuck’s breath catches in his throat. ‘I thought you said it was going to be cut and dry? The evidence was all there.’

‘Turns out they’ve got a lot more money than we thought they did,’ Taeyong sighs. ‘Hansol is fairly sure they’re moving tonight, so we have to find them before they disappear again. We’ve got maybe a couple of hours until we lose track of them.’

‘Shit.’

Donghyuck tugs his uniform over his head, feeling it settle on him like a second skin as he follows Taeyong back through the depths of the house to where Jisung is waiting. The boy sits on the edge of the table, fully dressed and blinking at them through his domino mask.

‘We’ve got to move,’ Taeyong says, picking up his utility belt and clipping it around his waist. Donghyuck throws him the escrima sticks, duck out into the dim light of dusk. ‘I don’t think we’re going to have that long.’

‘How long have we got?’ Donghyuck asks.

Taeyong doesn’t answer, instead he flags down a taxi. Jisung steals a look at Donghyuck, but Donghyuck just pushes him into the backseat as Taeyong begins talking to the man in the front of the taxi.

‘Who are the hostiles?’ Jisung asks, voice low as he looks out of the window of Mapo flashing by. ‘How many are we expecting?’

‘Four,’ Donghyuck says. ‘I don’t know that much about them though, they’re good fighters.’

‘They’re trafficking something,’ Taeyong says, voice rising in the small space of the car. Both boys look to the two men in the front. The taxi driver’s hands clench around the wheel. Taeyong turns around to face the two boys in the back.  ‘We know that they’ve worked with Black Pink before, but that’s about it.’

Donghyuck hisses.

‘They’re the ones that tried to blow up Gangnam last year, weren’t they?’

‘They blew up half of Gangnam,’ Taeyong corrects, ‘and held the prime minister hostage. We know these guys are doing something, we just need to find out what it is.’

 

 

The taxi drops them off in one of the quieter parts of Mapo, near an unassuming building that immediately makes the hairs on the back of Donghyuck’s neck stand up. Taeyong pays with his usual eloquence and politeness, even though the taxi driver speeds off in what Donghyuck can only assume is warranted fear.

‘We can’t get any eyes on this place,’ Taeyong whispers, passing Donghyuck and Jisung the comms. ‘Hansol’s tried bugs and more, but there’s interference so we’re not even sure if we’ll be able to stay in contact. So, stay together.’

‘Got it,’ Donghyuck nods.

His steps are as light as ever as the three of them make their way through to the building. It’s not as isolated or barren as the last building they’d tracked the men to, but there’s a still coldness to the building. It’s not quite a warehouse, but there’s something industrial about it all, slim windows and steel doors that make it look impenetrable.

It’s not though, Jisung spots an open window that the three of them slip through. There isn’t much in the garage, some vans and what Donghyuck assumes to be mechanic’s tools. Taeyong takes no heed of them, leading them down a corridor as pristine as Johnny’s ship.

Donghyuck takes in the smooth white lines, the harsh lights, and can’t help the shiver. It’s sterile, compared to the clean look of Johnny’s ship, almost like a hospital the further away they get from the garage. Jisung’s steps falter for a moment, before he points to a door at the end of the corridor.

Taeyong signals for them to drop low, and Donghyuck reaches for the knives that Hansol gave him and slips the rings over his knuckles. They’re not a comfort, but they’re a defence and Donghyuck’s form immediately slips into something steady but low as they approach the door.

True to Jisung’s guess, there are voices coming through the door and Donghyuck leans up to have a look in.

The room is something like a lab. It looks like Donghyuck’s science classroom but with about a million more dollars put into funding it. The surfaces are clean metal, and various machines that Donghyuck recognises from pictures of universities are spread around the edges of the rooms. He’s sure that if he looked closer he’d probably see like test-tubes or something, but he can’t risk it to instead focus on the occupants on the room.

They’re the same four men from last time, albeit with a few more bandages and a little bit more beat up. Donghyuck knows that they’re the sort of bad guys that have money and resources, but he’s noticing the sleek cut of the suits and the expensive jewellery they wear.

It’s hard to believe they’re middle men, working for someone richer and more powerful than them.

‘We’ve got to move everything by tonight,’ the one with the platinum hair says, obviously the leader from the way the others agree without any argument. ‘The kids are coming in to help us, but they won’t be here for an hour or two. We’ve already lost too much from the external facilities.’

Donghyuck looks at Taeyong.

Taeyong sighs and nods.

Then he kicks the door open.

Taeyong uses his speed and momentum to throw himself over the counters, kicking one of the men in the stomach. Jisung stays low to the ground, fists already flying as he knocks another off his feet.

Donghyuck barely has time to react, chasing in after the others and catching the man with black hair off guard before he can turn anything into an attack. There’s not much space, the man in the corner between two lab counters. He’s injured from their last fight, the wound Donghyuck gouged into his leg, but he’s quick on his feet and Donghyuck is pushed back into the counter.

His back collides with the edge. It’s sharp and strong against his back, and Donghyuck barely holds back the hiss of pain before he shoves himself forward. He can’t punch or kick the man, too close for anything except a shoulder into the man’s sternum.

It sends him staggering back.

Over the black haired man’s shoulder, Jisung drives a perfect kick into his opponent’s side. Donghyuck would almost admire it, except his opponent rises up again reaches to grab at Donghyuck. Donghyuck ducks down and around, trying to get into a more open space than the small corner he’s worked himself into.

‘Come on kid, you don’t wanna do this,’ the man says, but there’s a twist to his lips and a light to his eyes. His stance is firm and solid, and he’s primed to attack.

‘No, but you do,’ Donghyuck exhales.   

 

 

Jisung’s wrapped around the neck of the fey-like man from last time, his face turning blue under Jisung’s cold gaze. Taeyong’s escrima stick whirls around in quick succession as he attacks the man with the blonde hair, ends sparking with the new features that Hansol installed.

Donghyuck grunts, forced backwards through the door and he doesn’t have any choice but to reach for it and slam it into his opponent. The man howls in pain.

‘You little brat,’ he snarls from behind it, and Donghyuck turns on his heel.

The corridor feels endless, now that he’s running. The white pristine walls feel long, and stretch in front of him. Donghyuck doesn’t have a choice, hearing the swearing of the green-haired man and, he realises a moment later with dread, someone else.  

He doesn’t want to risk it, knows that it’s precious time that he’s wasting, but Donghyuck throws a look over his shoulder.

Two men are chasing after him, the dread gets worse. He careens through the nearest door, throwing himself underneath a table even though every instinct is screaming that this is his dumbest idea yet.

‘He definitely went in here?’ the green haired man asks.

‘Probably, but you check the next door, just in case,’ the black haired man, the man Donghyuck _stabbed_ , says.

‘Seunghoon…’

‘I’ll be fine, it’s just a little stab wound,’ it’s almost jokey. Donghyuck curls up just that little bit tighter at the sound of it. ‘Leave the kid for me though.’

There’s a sound of agreement, and then Donghyuck hears the green haired man head to another room. He doesn’t know if he should be happy with that or not.

The door creaks open again.

‘I know you’re in here, kid,’ the voice is low, and Donghyuck shrinks down. He realises, looking around, that he’s in some sort of greenhouse, and the plants are blocking his view of the suit-clad legs.

He flicks at his knives, unsheathing the blade and holding them out in front of him as a guard even as he looks around. He’s exposed, and alone and his heart thunders in his ears. He knows that Taeyong said to stay close, but there was no-where to go.

Blood drips into his eye, from a cut that occurred when the green haired man tried to attack him with a splintered bottle in the laboratory. He doesn’t try to wipe it off though, doesn’t want to risk moving too much.

‘I’m not going to hurt you,’ Seunghoon lies. Donghyuck can hear him getting closer. He stills. ‘I just want to _talk_.’

As he says it, he sweeps down through the table and Donghyuck tumbles out with a startled yelp. He tries to roll out of it, but Seunghoon’s reached out and he pulls Donghyuck up by the hair again. Donghyuck can’t even fight back before he’s hit straight in the stomach and he lets out a loud groan, before pulling himself back.

Seunghoon lets go and Donghyuck barely takes a moment to reset before he’s rushing forward with his knives flashing. Seunghoon smirks, for the smallest amount of a second and then he’s moving forward with his own blades.

This man is taller, stronger and far more well trained than Donghyuck is. The only thing Donghyuck has on him is agility, ducking out the way and around the countless plants that feel the greenhouse.

‘You’re good, I’ll give you that,’ Seunghoon laughs. ‘You’re not good enough kid.’

‘You’d be surprised,’ Donghyuck hisses, grabbing one of the pot plants and throwing it at the man. It’s not big enough to shatter, but it’s enough to slow him down. Donghyuck pushes more down onto the floor.

‘STOP IT!’ the man roars. ‘You’ve no clue what you’re dealing with.’

‘Does it look like I care?’ Donghyuck pants, looking back to the door behind him. His fingers curl around the rings of his knives, even if he dreads the steps forward he’ll have to swipe them into the man’s skin. ‘I don’t know what this is but I know it’s got to stop.’

Then, black.

 

 

‘ _Yeolhana!’_

The word cuts through the fuzz and the darkness and Donghyuck sits up. His head is buzzing, and he reaches back, wincing at the feeling of his fingers against _something_. He catalogues what he can:

He has no broken ribs, but everything aches and there’s a ringing in his ears. He’s probably been hit on the head, knocked out for a moment or loner. The bad guys are gone, there’s not even any sign of the one he’d been fighting. His knives are on the ground, and…

His domino mask.

He curses. It’s sitting on the floor, far enough away for him to know that it didn’t just fall off. He slips it back onto his face just as a pale Taeyong bursts through the door. The man’s bleeding from a cut under his eye, and he rushes over to cup Donghyuck’s face in his hands.

‘Taeyong,’ he breathes, resting his head forward and relief coursing through him. He never knows how stressed he is in a fight, not until the moments when it falls apart and there’s nothing left but him and his co-workers and he can relax again.

Jisung watches over his shoulder, surprisingly undamaged in the light of the greenhouse. Donghyuck’s not surprised, the fight drips of Jisung’s skin unlike anything Donghyuck’s ever seen before. Not even Taeyong has the same grace or natural knack for it.

It takes him a moment to realise that Taeyong’s talking to him. ‘Are you okay? Where are you hurt?’

‘Everywhere,’ he groans, leaning his head against Taeyong’s shoulder. ‘Everything hurts.’

‘So, you’re fine,’ Taeyong surmises, and Donghyuck pinches a small smile.

‘Relatively,’ he says because it’s true. He’s had enough fights to know that it’s just bruises and cuts, most of the fight is superficial and that it’s nothing more than a quick trip to a healer. ‘I hit my head.’

Taeyong bites something out, angry and sharp, a familiar look in his eyes. Donghyuck’s so fiercely glad, something warm spreading through him at the knowledge that this is the man who is there for him.

‘Did they get away?’ Donghyuck asks, even though he already knows the answer at Taeyong’s wince and the silence that echoes through the building that they’re in.

‘They did,’ Taeyong says, voice low. ‘They didn’t take anything with them, but they had some sort of dart to knock us out with.’

‘You were both hit?’ Donghyuck asks, looking at Jisung and Taeyong. The younger boy shakes his head, holding up a small tube that is filled with a yellow liquid. Donghyuck’s not sure if he’s jealous or relieved, knowing that the younger boy was okay when he wasn’t.

‘Just got out of the way, we’ll send it someone else for testing. Find out what’s going on with all of this,’ Taeyong babbles, smoothing his hand through Donghyuck hair and wincing when it comes away with a bit of blood. ‘Hansol and everyone else are already on their way over. Everything’s going to be okay.’

 

 

He’s in probably the grossest bathroom in the school, no-one dares venture into it because of its reputation. It’s the best place for him to apply the creams that had been given to him by the doctor. It’s not as easy a fix as Lay coming around and healing all his issues without question, but the superhero is needed elsewhere and for bigger things.

Donghyuck hisses as he pulls his uniform shirt off, feeling the stretch of his sore body. He’s got about half an hour, until the end of lunch and the good thing about being as avoidant as he has been is that no-one will think to look for him.

‘You got this,’ he mutters to himself, reaching over to try and apply the cream to the mottled bruising across his back. He has maybe three hours left of the day, of sitting too straight and pretending he’s fine until he can return to the safety of Taeyong’s apartment to sleep this off. He’s done it before.

He can make it through the rest of the day.

 ‘ _Donghyuck_ ,’ he winces, and turns around. Renjun stands in the entrance of the bathroom, face pale as he looks at Donghyuck’s bruised and battered body. ‘What the _fuck_?’  

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [cc](http://curiouscat.me/neocitz)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> massive thank you to cla who pretty much held my hand throughout this entire chapter 
> 
>  
> 
> un-beta'd

‘ _Shit_ ,’ Donghyuck tugs his shirt back on, but he’s too late. Renjun has already shut the bathroom door behind him and is running light fingers over the bruising. ‘How did you find me?’

‘That’s not important,’ Renjun snaps. ‘What happened?’

‘I fell down some stairs.’ Donghyuck jerks away. He’s hyperaware of the fact that he’s pressed as far away from Renjun as he can, fingers curling around the edge of a ceramic sink. ‘I’m _fine_.’

He refuses to look at the other boy, eyes fixed on the grimy tiles of the floor between them. He can shoulder past Renjun, if he tries, but the other boy would only follow him, frustration and curiosity on the tip of his tongue until Donghyuck just gave in.

Donghyuck doesn’t know what to do. 

‘You’re not fine,’ Renjun spits. He ducks down lower, fierce flashing eyes raking over Donghyuck’s form. ‘You don’t get this from falling down the stairs.’

Donghyuck knows that it doesn’t look good. He could barely move that morning, when he’d pushed himself up from the yo on the living room floor and made his way to the kitchen. He’d winced his way through preparing his food, sparing a single look to a still-sleeping Jisung on the couch before making his way down to the bus stop.

‘Renjun, just leave it.’ He’s almost begging, pulling the shirt over his body as he does everything to avoid Renjun’s eyes. Sometime in the last few months, weeks, _days_ , Renjun became the one who could strip Donghyuck down to the truest person he could pretend to be at school. It was only a matter of time until he could reduce Donghyuck even past that.

‘Is this what you’ve been hiding?’ Renjun tugs the shirt down again, turning Donghyuck so that he can have a proper look at his back. Donghyuck can’t hold back the hiss of pain, Renjun’s fingers digging into tender skin, and the older boy’s hand flies back with apologies tripping off his tongue. ‘Is this why you’ve been pulling away?’

Donghyuck’s hidden his truth from Renjun, through misdirection but he’s never outright lied. Faced with something that’s angry, and fearful, and worried, Donghyuck can’t lie to Renjun. He can’t bring the words to twist the distance between them into something tight and taught, not when faced with those dark, determined eyes.

His shoulders fall in, a resigned slump, as he looks at Renjun. It’s not often that he looks up at the boy, but he can’t help the way his knees buckle under his own weight and the way his leans against the boy. He tucks his head into Renjun’s shoulder, as if Renjun’s slim frame and fiery personality is enough to block out the world.  

‘It is, but it’s not what you think.’

Renjun’s voice is thin as he wraps soft arms around Donghyuck, careful not to jostle the bruises that line his skin. ‘You’re not getting into trouble are you?’

‘Well,’ Donghyuck’s fingers curl around the sleeves of his shirt, and he looks down into the space between the pair of them, ‘I’m kind of a sidekick.’

‘A _sidekick?_ ’ Renjun laughs as he pulls away

Then he stops.

‘I’ve been training with one of the vigilantes around Seoul.’ Donghyuck refuses to let insecurity take him, not in this. His voice stays as steady as he can make it, even as his body shakes and aches from the fight from the night before. 

‘You’re not serious,’ Renjun sighs, running his fingers through his hair as he steps back. In the flickering half light of the bathroom, he looks washed out and pale when Donghyuck lifts his eyes to lock with Renjun’s. ‘This is why you’ve been hiding from us?’

 

 

Students are not supposed to be allowed on the roof, but Renjun is the sort of favourite student that makes most teachers turn a blind eye to him. Donghyuck’s the one who manoeuvres them through the school without running into anyone, but Renjun slips the key into the door to lead them onto the roof.

It’s cool, but there’s no wind to bite at their skin, and Donghyuck pulls his shirt off again. In the light of day, away from the horror that is a high school boy’s bathroom, his bruising feels a little more real and yet less painful. He hears a hiss of sympathy, annoyance and affection, before he sits down.

Renjun’s fingers are gentle, as he smooths the cream over the bruising and scars. ‘So, you’re a superhero?’

‘Sidekick, technically,’ Donghyuck says. ‘I’m not super at all.’

‘Then why are you doing this?’ Renjun’s fingers press too hard, enough for Donghyuck to flinch away, before he mutters out an apology that sounds irritated even to Donghyuck’s ears. ‘Why are you letting yourself get hurt like this?’

‘It’s the right thing to do,’ Donghyuck says, the words falling short and flat in the wideness of the space around them. When he’s patrolling, standing on a building makes Donghyuck feel like he’s at the top of the world. But with his flayed skin exposed, and his truths tripping out of him, Donghyuck feels like Renjun’s the only comfort in this solitude. ‘I just, couldn’t sit by and not do anything.’

‘Yes,’ Renjun mutters, ‘you could. You don’t have to go out there and save the world, fight the big bad guy.’

‘It’s not about saving the world.’ Donghyuck’s fingers curl around each other, twisting as he waits for Renjun’s words. He should probably call Taeyong or Taeil, call one of the adults to help them deal with this because Donghyuck’s _floundering_ on his own. But instead he just waits it out, waits for the cracks in Renjun to either fall apart between them.

‘You know,’ Renjun taps Donghyuck’s shoulder, tugging the shirt back over the bruising and aching, ‘I’m not actually that surprised.’

A pause.

‘You’re not?’

‘I mean,’ Renjun wipes his hands against his pants as Donghyuck carefully does his shirt up again, wounds attended to, ‘you’ve always been a fucking dumbass.’

Donghyuck pauses where he’s standing, throwing a glare over his shoulder at Renjun. He’s smiling, but it’s too wide, a little bit tight at the corners. He is, Donghyuck realises, about as lost as Donghyuck is in this moment. He turns fully, gently trying to settle down on the floor as if his body isn’t screaming at him, and gestures to Renjun to do the same.

‘I couldn’t not do it,’ Donghyuck gives a sort of shrug. ‘It was a laugh, at first. I stumbled upon Hana in a 7-11—’

‘Hana, as in _The_ Hana.’

Renjun’s eyes are round and wide. It feels weird, knowing that there are people who think of Taeyong and the rest of the crew like a myth, secrets that flit through the night. It’s even weirder, thinking that six months ago he was in the same place, hearing stories but never seeing them before him.

‘Yeah,’ Donghyuck shrugs, ‘I met him, and I was like _Hey, why don’t I help you out?_ while he was trying to buy Gatorade.’

‘And he said yes?’

Donghyuck snorts. ‘He laughed and ran away. Not in like a mean way, he’s actually really, _really_ awkward.’

‘Shit,’ Renjun whistles, long and low, ‘you’re _his_ sidekick? The one with the shorts?’

‘I only wore them for like two weeks.’ Donghyuck can’t help the pout. He didn’t have anything else to wear at the time and Taeyong was convinced that Donghyuck was going to quit at any moment. ‘They weren’t _that_ bad.’

They were.

‘Shit,’ Renjun repeats, and this time he looks up at Donghyuck. ‘You’re actually a sidekick. _Shit_. You’re the kid who got trapped on top of a grocery store in September. _That’s why you smelt of watermelons for a whole day_.’

Donghyuck sighs. It could be worse, he supposes.

‘I thought we established this already.’

‘That was, like, theoretical,’ Renjun says, more of a stammer as he processes the words. ‘You know? You say you’re a sidekick, and maybe you are but it doesn’t _feel real_. Except, you _are_ , it’s not theoretical, it’s _actually a thing._ ’

Donghyuck can see the way Renjun’s eyes dart from side to side, and decides to keep his mouth shut. He still remembers that overwhelming fear and worry and shock when Mark and Jaemin first pulled off their masks, the way his world tilted and hung in freefall for a second before it had to be snapped back into place.

He pulls his knees in, looping his arms around them. It takes all his effort not to bury his head in his arms, block out the world around him. It’s something like worry and relief, tied together in the centre of his chest that he can’t begin to untangle as he watches and waits.

‘So,’ Renjun exhales when he’s done and looks up at Donghyuck again, ‘you found him in a 7-11.’

‘And he didn’t want to take me in. But I found him again, and this time he said yes. And I went out and it was just supposed to be a single time, come back to you guys and be like: look what I did last night.’ It’s not… Donghyuck’s proudest moment, looking back. But it led to something that was amazing and terrifying and lifechanging.

‘But?’

‘But then,’ there’s a moment before Donghyuck lifts his eyes up meet Renjun’s, ‘I was awful. I couldn’t keep up with him, I was too loud and gave away our position. I nearly got my arse beat by a geriatric with super strength. But I managed to distract him, and a couple on a date ran away to safety. And Hana took me back, and he patched me up, and he told me that I was dumb but he wouldn’t have been able to get them out if I hadn’t been there. He told me to make sure I punched with my thumb on the outside, and he told me to come back the next night.

‘So, I did.’

 

 

‘Sunbae?’

Jisung and Donghyuck are alone in the lair. Taeyong’s working through the afternoon rush, which leaves the two boys to their own devices for longer than they really should be. They’d entered the lair to find a note with instructions to work on their hand to hand, for Donghyuck to finish his Literature homework and to eat some of the fruit that he had cut earlier that afternoon.

‘Yes, Jisung?’ Donghyuck’s decided to get his homework out of the way first, sat at his desk with a mountain of paper in front of him. His marks have been better than ever, loathe as he is to admit it, since Taeyong started keeping track of them. And they’ve only gone up in the past few weeks, empty hours being filled with Donghyuck actually paying attention to the pile of work in front of him.

Jisung’s in the middle of wrapping his wrists, the punching bag already dragged into the middle of the room. He’s been warming up, small little star jumps to keep the blood flowing as he prepares for the routine that’s probably engrained in his bones.

‘Are you not going to train?’  

‘I have to finish my homework first.’ Donghyuck flicks through his textbook, searching for the math equations that are going to tear his brain apart as much as anything will. ‘I’ve got a test coming up next week. I’d rather get it out of the way than procrastinate all weekend.’

‘So?’

Donghyuck turns, to where Jisung’s standing. The boy’s curling his fingers, testing the stability of his wrapping, but his eyes are flat and fixed on Donghyuck’s. They remind him of the first time Donghyuck met him, of when Jisung stands on a roof and assesses a crowd in front of them, of the little smirk Jisung has when he dives into a fight.

‘It’s a test, I need to pass it.’  

‘But why? What does it have to do with saving anyone?’

It’s the same questions that Jisung asked in the supermarket, but this time curiosity is replaced with something harder and harsher. The boy hasn’t shrunk into himself, in a supermarket with people he’s barely gotten to know, he looks older and stronger and scarier than any fifteen-year-old boy should.

‘It doesn’t,’ Donghyuck admits. ‘But I still have to do it.’

‘But why would you waste your time on something as useless as school, when you clearly can’t keep up with Taeyong-sunbae in the field?’

Donghyuck freezes.

Jisung doesn’t stop. He isn’t aggressive, not like how he stalks forward in the dimness of night, but there’s a hint of _something_ that settles oddly on Donghyuck’s skin and makes him want to shrink into himself.  ‘I mean, you waste _so much_ time instead of just training and doing what you’re supposed to do? You’re always doing homework or at school or, what do you call it, hanging out with friends? No wonder you get hurt so easily.’

‘Jisung.’ Donghyuck can hear the way his voice wavers, trying to keep his words low and close to him. His pen is pressing into the scratches on his palms, sharp pain grounding him into the moment.

‘I would understand more, if you were _better_. But you don’t have time to waste on this, not like the other sunbaenims.’

The worst bit, Donghyuck thinks, is that Jisung’s not being _mean_ about it. At least not intentionally. Each sentence is a statement, something that is Jisung’s truth. He can’t help but wonder what Jisung’s truth was, before Taeyong took him away from it.

It’s hard to remember, with the way that Jisung can throw himself off a building or fight three men at once without breaking a sweat, that no-one knows anything about him. Taeyong had spoken of him being trained by _the_ U-Know and _the_ Max, and you can see it in the way his style of fighting is so similar to that of Taeyong’s.

But Taeyong’s also spoken about how there’s nothing about this boy from before, no life and no parents. It’s almost as if the fight is the only thing that he knows, as if it’s his beginning and end.

Donghyuck inhales, deep and steady and when he looks up at Jisung’s flat eyes, he tries to match the strength of the boy’s stare. It must work, because there’s a flicker of something that’s almost surprise. It bolsters Donghyuck, just enough to roll his shoulders back and tilt his chin up.

‘Jisung.’ He pushes the shake out of his voice because he can’t afford to let it take over, not in the moments between them standing there.  ‘There’s more to life than this job.’

He looks at the younger boy, the way his eyes widen a little bit with something that’s almost confusion and irritation. He looks, Donghyuck thinks, incredibly young.

 

 

The rooftop that Donghyuck chooses is one that he’s familiar with. It’s on top of Taeyong’s favourite convenience store, with a handful of workers that are used to Taeyong and Donghyuck’s coming and goings in the shadows of night. Hopefully they won’t get too annoyed with Donghyuck setting up camp in the middle of the day on a weekend, but it’s the only neutral location he can think of.

His fingers itch at his thighs, and he twists his fingers into his pants as he waits. It takes everything into him not to stand up and flee into the afternoon, something swirling in his stomach that has him teetering on the edge of needing to run. Instead, he sits on top of an upturned bucket and waits.

A shadow passes over him, blocking the dimmer light afternoon sun of almost-winter. Donghyuck tips his head back to watch Mark descend from the sky, Jaemin clinging to his back. His heart sits in his throat, as he watches the two boys touch down with a not-too-delicate thud in the middle of the roof.

Jaemin climbs off Mark’s back like an awkward spider, limbs too long and wrapped too tight around the short boy. He bows in the smallest of movements at Donghyuck as Mark brushes himself off. Donghyuck would be willing to guess that the two of them walked the majority of the distance, just because Mark can’t risk flying around Seoul out of costume.

Donghyuck’s gotten so used to Mark’s smile at school, and trying to avoid it, that he forgot that Mark hates him as Haechan. His brow is tipped down into a frown, and his jaw clenches as he walks over to where Donghyuck’s sitting on his bucket.

‘So?’ Mark’s tipped his chin up a little bit, and Donghyuck has to rise to meet it. He feels small, wrapped up in his hoodie and behind his mask. ‘We came here, like you asked us to.’

‘Thank you,’ Donghyuck says, voice stuck in his throat. It sounds as insincere as it feels. He doesn’t have to apologise or play nice, he’s started to realise over the past week. His job is to look after people, it’s not to be nice. ‘I thought that we should talk.’

‘Are you going to insult Jaemin again?’ Mark’s voice is as cold as Donghyuck’s ever heard it, but he can’t flinch away from it. His spine is stiff and straight with the reminder that he’s in the right thrumming through his veins.

‘I guess that depends.’ Donghyuck keeps his voice as snide as he can. ‘Are either of you going to give me reason to?’

Jaemin murmurs something into Mark’s ear, enough that the older of the two boys lets out a slow breath that eases between his shoulders. They’re looking at him, one boy filled with cold rage whilst the other refuses to hold his gaze for more than the brief minutes he needs to.

‘The only reason we’re here is because we need your help with the case we’re working on.’ Mark crosses his arms in front of him, brows permanently dropped into his frown.

‘I’ve already told you that I don’t trust him,’ Donghyuck looks over Mark’s shoulder at Jaemin, ‘but it wouldn’t be right of me to not help when I can. I didn’t call you to be your friend, I called you because I want to do the right thing.’

Mark lurches forward again, but Jaemin’s hand is soft on his shoulder. It doesn’t hold him back, nothing can hold back the pure strength that is Mark Lee, but the gentle touch shocks him to a stop. He steps in front of Mark, still looking at the ground before his eyes flick up to meet Donghyuck’s with an edge of steel to them.

This is the boy that Donghyuck’s used to, standing up for himself. There’s no smile splitting his face, no sharp weapon to fight off the world, and Donghyuck keeps his face just as neutral as he waits for Jaemin to talk.

‘I don’t expect you to trust me,’ he shakes his head at Mark, quieting the older boy as he maintains Donghyuck’s stare for the first time since they landed, ‘I don’t expect you to _like_ me. But if you’ve called us together for this then you’re doing it because you think it needs to be done, don’t you?’

Donghyuck nods.

He hates how, in those moments, it feels like that silent understanding that’s always existed between him and Jaemin. Even without knowing who they are to each other, Jaemin can pick him apart to his barest bones.

‘I’m only trying to do my job,’ Donghyuck says. ‘I’m going to work with you, but that’s it.’

Jaemin gives a small nod of his own. ‘Then that’s all we’ll require of you. We’ll compromise.’ The last word is accompanied with a small glance at Mark. The oldest of their little group barely nods his head, and Donghyuck can’t help the threat of a laugh that feels disbelieving in his throat.

In the past weeks, he’s had to juggle the thoughts about Mark and Jaemin in his head. The dim hope that things would work out had since faded, but Donghyuck never thought that it would be Mark that Donghyuck would have the most trouble with in this strange little situation.

How many months had he heard whispers of Yeol, the next great hero to burst across Seoul? This was the sidekick that Taeyong had admired so much, that Donghyuck had followed through the nights and tried to be and befriend. Donghyuck never thought that Mark would be the one who turned the spiralling fear and frustration into anger.

‘Compromise sounds fair,’ Donghyuck says, because Mark doesn’t seem willing to fill the space between them. ‘We’ll try it again, this sidekick club of yours.’

‘A fresh start. We’ll organise a time to go through the cases that Mark and I’ve been working on.’

Jaemin’s agreement is soft, serious and final before he turns back to Mark. They’ve a silent conversation in a moment in a half, something that leaves a sour taste in Donghyuck’s mouth, before Mark bends down slightly to let Jaemin wraps himself around Mark’s back.

It’s obvious he’s been dismissed.

Donghyuck turns away, intent on heading to the staircase that will take him down to the store. He stops, and casts a look over his shoulder, at the two boys who are about to take off into the distance again. He knows they’re going to go off and do their own thing, to let these past minutes fall into a memory and instead focus on the excitement and joy of their friendship. While he has to return to his endless cycle of secrets and frustrations.

He tries not to be bitter and fails. ‘You do know, that I asked you to come here, that I asked for us to try this sidekick club thing again because I’m watching you.’

Mark’s entire body stiffens, angry brown eyes rising again. Donghyuck doesn’t feel satisfaction in Mark’s anger, not when it makes every inch between them feel like a mile. It feels like he’s given something away, but without the relief that he had expected.

 But Jaemin smiles, for the first time since he landed on the roof. It’s sharp and wide and truer than anything Donghyuck’s seen all day.

‘Of course I do.’

 

 

Donghyuck knows that he should tell Taeyong. He should tell Taeyong that Jaemin knows he’s being watched, that his golden boy sidekick is not as good as Taeyong’s thought him to be. He should tell Taeyong that Renjun knows about his life as a sidekick. A thousand things sit on the tip of his tongue, but facing the man, with a beanie pulled low over his hair and bags dragging under his eyes, he can’t bring himself to admit the truth to the Taeyong.

Jisung sits across the room, back ramrod straight as Ten peers up at him with a wicked grin.

It’s rare for them to all meet up outside the sanctity of the café, but Taeil’s put up some sort of offer to get more university students to spend money there. It must be working, because the café’s been deemed temporarily compromised to the team and they have to meet in their more private homes.

Donghyuck’s school bag is on the floor, his homework deceptively light against the stacks of paper that Johnny printed out and covered in sticky notes, but he hasn’t reached for it yet. Taeyong’s long thin fingers played with his collar, tugging at it with that laugh that makes Donghyuck very aware of the fact that Taeyong is as uncomfortable as he can be.

So, he sits with his hands folded in his lap as he waits for the older man to speak. He can’t help but wonder how they became this, how they went from exasperated sighs and teasing jibes to stoic silences and careful glances.

‘You got hurt on Thursday,’ Taeyong exhales, and it breaks the silence between them in such an awful way. There’s exhaustion and apology and pity and anger, all curled up into five words that Taeyong forces out. ‘And I wasn’t there to keep an eye on you, I wasn’t there to help you.’

‘It’s in the job description.’ Donghyuck cracks a smile but Taeyong shakes his head.

‘No, I’m supposed to look after you. And I can’t, I can’t keep an eye on both of you at the same time. Not yet anyway.’

Taeyong looks to Jisung, who is a cross between terrified and intrigued as Ten shows him how his super speed works. He looks as young as he’s ever looked, eyes wide as he tries to follow the quick moving hands and the rapid fire of Ten’s speech.

‘Jisung’s hard to keep up with, and I can’t risk you getting hurt again.’ Taeyong’s not looking at Donghyuck, and already his heart has leapt to his throat. In all the months they’ve known each other, Taeyong’s never shied away from Donghyuck. Even when cursing him out for making a stupid decision, he’s looked Donghyuck in the eye.

Donghyuck’s always appreciated that.

‘Just tell me,’ he says, and he tries to keep his voice soft and quiet in the space between them even though he knows he’ll hate whatever comes out of Taeyong’s mouth, just because Taeyong himself must hate it so much.

‘I think it will be best if we take a few nights to let me get used to Jisung,’ Taeyong exhales, and when he looks at Donghyuck his eyes are wide with apology, ‘I can’t look out for you if I’m constantly chasing after him. I’ve already talked to the others and they’re willing to have you follow them for training.’

The worst bit is that Donghyuck can see where Taeyong is coming from. Donghyuck wants to complain, to bite out some sort of inflammatory statement because why does _he_ have to be the one to be handed off. But then he sees the resignation in Taeyong’s eyes, the determination to help Jisung adapt to his place as one of Taeyong’s sidekicks.

Jisung is quick and smart and ruthless, and Taeyong barely manages to bounce between them. He doesn’t even know if Jisung knows how much the pair of them are struggling, the boy rushing forward with every step. Taeyong needs to know how to overcome this.

‘Who will I be training with?’ he just manages to keep his voice flat and fair, tries not to make Taeyong feel worse than he already does.

‘More likely Yuta,’ Taeyong admits. ‘Johnny’s going to take any night that he can’t help with. Jaehyun’s probably not ready to take on anyone just yet. I’ve been meaning to get you to spend a couple of nights on patrol with him anyway.’

He says the words as if they’re meant to make Donghyuck feel better, as if he’s not being passed off to the first person. Donghyuck can only force a smile, pretending that his fingers aren’t curling into his fists and cutting his palms.  

‘Just for a few days?’ he tries not to sound too hopeful, but the words are plaintive as they edge into each other. He hopes that Ten and Jisung are still distracted across the room, that they’re not seeing that moment of weakness that leaks out of him opposite Taeyong. 

‘Shouldn’t be longer,’ Taeyong promises, and Donghyuck wants to hold him to it. But he’s not sure if he can. ‘It’s just the actual patrols, I promise that I’ll be there when we’re doing training in the hideout and around the house. And we’ll still patrol together when I’m not patrolling with Jisung.’

Donghyuck swallows down his fear, his frustration and nods. There’s nothing that he can say in this moment, nothing that will make him or Taeyong feel better. The older man can see the way Donghyuck’s shoulders are that bit slumped over, it’s obvious in the way Taeyong rubs his throat and coughs out his apologies.

In this moment, he’s so, _so,_ glad that he’s got Renjun, that he hasn’t spilt that Renjun knows to the man in front of him. That when this is all over, he can return to the dormitories and curl up in the middle of Renjun’s bed and talk to him. His fingers are already itching for his phone.

He didn’t realise how much he needed to talk to someone, not until the possibility is there.  

‘Okay,’ he says with a nod, even though it’s anything but.

When Jisung and Taeyong leave for the night, slinking off for their first patrol as a duo without Donghyuck, Ten speeds over to where Donghyuck’s quietly packing up his books. The older man doesn’t say anything, different to the cackle of laughter that Donghyuck’s so used to. Instead he gets a warm arm around his shoulders, and Donghyuck lets out a long exhale that might have turned into a sob if he were strong enough to cry in front of someone.

 

 

‘How’s your back?’ Renjun hangs off the back of the trolley as they make their way through the shopping centre.

It’s just them, thankfully, Chenle and Jeno having been tempted away by the callings of a cat café. They’re supposed to be watching a movie, a spy thriller that’s likely going to hit too close to home for Donghyuck, but they’ve got at least another hour until the screening starts. Donghyuck and Renjun had decided to go shop for clothes, their pants a few inches too short and a bit too tight around the shoulders after a year of growing.

Donghyuck’s not surprised that Renjun turned it into an interrogation as soon as they were alone. The boy had only managed to get a few questions in at school, once the shock of Donghyuck being a sidekick had settled.

Away from the school walls, anonymous in the crowds of a shopping centre, it feels odd to talk about it. But, Donghyuck can’t help but think, in a strangely good way.

‘It’s better,’ he shrugs as he follows Renjun through the store. ‘I mean, it’s going to take me a couple of days to heal up properly. But I can actually reach things now without wincing. That’s a win.’

‘Are you sure you’re okay to be here today? Shouldn’t you be in bed, resting or something?’

Donghyuck colours, cheeks burning a little red as he looks at Renjun.

‘I don’t know, I don’t really know if I should be alone in the apartment.’

‘What do you mean?’ Renjun pauses, and not for the first time Donghyuck’s glad that it’s Renjun who discovered his secret. Renjun who processes information and lets it stew before he rushes to conclusions or bugs one out of Donghyuck.

‘I mean.’ Donghyuck shrugs, turning to the rack of clothes to the side. He’s in need of dark hoodies and leggings for patrol, and Renjun’s not going to question him, so he throws them in to the trolley as he tries to process his thoughts. ‘It’s not really my home, you know? It’s not my place, I’m only staying there because it’s easier for me to stay there.’

‘You don’t feel welcome there?’

‘It’s not that, because Hana is _super_ nice when he wants to be. It’s more like… I’m not supposed to be there? It’s not _mine_ , and I feel a bit weird if I’m there and Hana’s at work or something.’

It’s the first time he’s vocalised it, first time he’s let himself acknowledge the thoughts that rush through his head regarding it. Jisung had slipped in like he was born to live there, though Donghyuck slightly suspects that might be because Jisung doesn’t understand the feeling of a home.

But when he sits on his _yo_ , preparing for a night’s rest, he can’t help but feel like he’s supposed to be somewhere else. He can’t help but feel like one wrong step and he’s going to set off some sort of alarm that says this isn’t right.

‘Why do you stay there, then?’ Renjun asks.

Donghyuck’s words die in his throat. He hasn’t told Renjun about Mark or Jaemin, despite the number of secrets that have started to spill out of him at the prospect of being able to talk to someone. He doesn’t know who he’s protecting, the two sidekicks or the wholly human boy in front of him.

‘I don’t feel like I should be staying at school either.’ He knows that he’s being evasive as he looks away from Renjun, ‘It’s better for me to be closer to Hana, even if I don’t really know what’s going on. For safety and stuff.’

‘Why? Like the bruises and stuff?’

‘Yeah,’ Donghyuck squeezes his eyes shut, ‘remember when I fell out of bed and got a concussion?’

Renjun curses.

‘How?’

His voice has that same shaking quality to it from the days before, caught between being upset and frustrated and angry. But Donghyuck can’t keep the words from spilling out, and he knows that if he were in Renjun’s position he’d be the same. He doesn’t want to burden his best friend with his secrets, but more than anything he wants Renjun to know each and every part of him.

He wants Renjun to tell him that everything’s going to be okay.

‘It doesn’t matter,’ Donghyuck swallows down the words, ‘I got into a fight that was bigger than what we were used to.’

‘I just,’ Renjun sighs. ‘Shit. I knew that falling out of bed was a stupid reason to get a concussion.’

‘Well, I had a throbbing headache and Chenle screaming in my ear. I wasn’t exactly at the top of my game.’ Donghyuck tries not to pout too much as he grabs a few more beanies, throwing them into the ever-growing pile of clothes that he’ll wear on patrol.

‘I wish there was a way to make sure that you won’t get hurt, but that’s practically impossible, isn’t it?’

‘It’s a part of the job description,’ Donghyuck forces a smile on his face, ‘but I’m the one that signed up for this life. They’re decisions that I’m sticking with.’

 

 

 

‘How are you holding up?’ Doyoung asks, bringing out a plate of cookies that are a bit crispy around the edge and placing them in front of Donghyuck. The crowds of the earlier afternoon had disappeared, although Donghyuck thought it was probably a decent success from Taeil’s grin, and he’s sat on a table.

‘All right,’ Donghyuck immediately crams a cookie into his mouth. He’d complain about them being overcooked, but he gets the rejects for free with no questions asked. He can’t risk having to pay for the proper ones, when he as more important things to pay for. ‘I mean, I’m getting the hang of trigonometry, and Chinese is nowhere near as hard as I thought it would be.’

‘I’m not talking about your homework.’ Doyoung slips down into the seat across from Donghyuck, taking a cookie from the plate and chewing at it himself. ‘Taeyong told me about the whole Jisung thing.’

‘You really should be clearer when you talk to somone,’ Donghyuck says, feeling his cheeks pink. ‘Don’t you know that context is important when you’re talking to people?’

Doyoung raises an eyebrow. ‘Donghyuck, stop avoiding the question.’

‘I’m not…’ his protest dies on his lips as Doyoung’s eyebrow reaches its highest peak. He lets out an exhale, remembering what Doyoung had told him earlier. There’s a bluntness to Doyoung, something that lets Donghyuck let go a little more. ‘I don’t know. I’m sort of excited to work with Yuta, but…’

‘He’s not Taeyong?’

‘No.’ Donghyuck sighs. ‘I signed up to be Taeyong’s sidekick, and it was because he was amazing and impressive and scary. But also, he was _ordinary._ All the other hyungs, they don’t get that? And I’m probably going to just be chasing after them.’

Doyoung laughs, his smile too wide in the corners and sharp.

‘You’re right,’ he shrugs, ‘they aren’t ordinary. Johnny’s from space, sent here to escape a dying planet. Yuta twitches his fingers and he has control over everything in a room. They’re not going to understand what it’s like to be human, or vulnerable like us.’

There’s something in Doyoung’s eyes, despite the laughter and Donghyuck remembers with a sudden clarity. All this time, and he’s only really conceptualised that Doyoung is, or rather was, Daseot.

He thinks he understands what Renjun meant, just days prior, when the boy had to take a second moment to understand that Donghyuck was a sidekick. It’s like his world shifts a little bit and his knowledge that Doyoung is a superhero gets realigned with the fact that Doyoung once fought like he did.

‘They’re different to us,’ Doyoung continues, voice still amused but blunt in the space between them. ‘They don’t understand why we get hurt so easily, or why we struggle to keep up, or why we even need to use weapons when theirs are inbuilt. But you shouldn’t let that stop you.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘You’re going to be following Yuta and Johnny to _learn_. And if that means that you have to yell at them to slow down, and help things make sense for you then you need to do that. There’s no point biting your tongue with them. Like I said, you’re not here to play nice.’

Donghyuck can’t help it, the small smile that pulls at his lips as he looks back up at Doyoung. ‘Thanks. I’ll try not to.’

‘Good,’ Doyoung nods once. ‘Now, get up.’

‘What?’ Donghyuck splutters out, pushing the cookies away to follow Doyoung through the store. The man throws a grin over his shoulder, this one more honest and free than the one from moments ago. ‘What are we doing?’

Sicheng smirks over his shoulder, balancing three orders, as Donghyuck and Doyoung squeeze into the space behind the counter. It should make him feel worse, the mischief in the older boy’s grin, but he cannot bring himself to argue with the pair of them as he’s jostled into place.

‘Sicheng and I have decided you need a hobby.’

‘A _what_?’

Sicheng just laughs, passing a coffee over to an exhausted looking university student who only mutters out their thanks before stumbling back to their desk.

‘We thought you needed a break from that bullshit,’ he says, and Donghyuck can’t help the laugh because of course Sicheng would refer to the whole thing as bullshit. The man’s disdain for the superhero lifestyle is almost impressive, in Donghyuck’s eyes, even if he can’t understand it.

Doyoung clears his throat. 

‘Do you know why Taeyong works at the café?’

‘Because he’s borderline broke?’

Doyoung lets out a cackling laugh at that. ‘No, well _yes_ , he’s terrible at saving for a former commerce major. But the big reason is because he needs a _break_ from being a hero, because it’s a job that just takes it out of you. It’s why Ten runs the university newspaper, and why Yuta-hyung participates in his local soccer club.’ Doyoung shoves the machine part underneath the coffee dispenser, pumping it a couple of times. ‘Hell, it’s why Hansol-hyung does those hackathons. None of us would be able to function if we didn’t get something else to do, a hobby or a job.’

Donghyuck tries to follow along with what Doyoung’s doing, but gives up in favour of Sicheng’s pulling the same tools out and guiding him through it with a murmured whisper between Doyoung’s exclamations.

‘So, you think I need to find something else to do?’

 ‘I _know_ you need something else to do,’ Doyoung shakes his head. ‘You come here after school almost every day, and just work through your homework for hours until it’s time for patrol. Then you patrol, sleep and then go to school.’

‘That’s not all I do,’ Donghyuck protests. It’s so much of a lie that both Doyoung and Sicheng stop to stare at him in such a judgemental way that Donghyuck wants to pout a little bit. ‘I mean, I hang out with my friends?’

‘Not that often,’ Doyoung corrects. ‘You forget that I both work here and live above you. I don’t know why you don’t go back to Taeyong’s apartment nap or something like an ordinary person. You _need_ one.’

Donghyuck can’t argue with that. Instead he just ducks his head down as Sicheng guides him through how to use the coffee machine. He knows he’s in dire need of a break, but he doesn’t know when to take it or how. He’s almost scared that if he does, everything will catch up with him.

‘Now, I’m not saying that doing homework all day is awful. Your grades are really improving, but you’re _exhausted_ , Donghyuck.’ Doyoung looks at him straight in the eye. ‘And I don’t mean physically, you just, need a break from everything else.’

‘So, what? I join a club at school? Get a hobby?’

‘Any of those,’ Sicheng murmurs, ‘hang out with your friends.’

‘Bring them here,’ Doyoung sweeps his arms out across the expanse of the café in front of them. ‘We won’t mind,  Taeyong won’t mind. You’re a kid, don’t forget that.’

Donghyuck can’t help considering it. He’s sure that Renjun and Chenle would like it here, Jeno likes any place that is cozy, and it would be nice to just relax in the café. He spends so much time working on his homework because there’s nothing else for him to do. At least that makes him feel useful.

‘We were also thinking,’ Sicheng adds, ‘that we could teach you how to make some coffee. Something new and different to change things up. You don’t have to, if you don’t want to, but it would be good for you to find somethings to do around here.’

He guides Donghyuck’s hands to press a button, and Donghyuck realises that somewhere between the conversation that the older men had led him through, he’d learnt how to make coffee.

‘You need to speak up, do things that you want because you can,’ Doyoung explains. ‘I know sometimes you feel that you can’t, but the two of us are willing to listen to you and help you when you need it.’

It is _very_ kind, and Donghyuck’s touched. He can’t bring himself to say it, can only let his smile grow in the corners of his mouth before he looks up at Doyoung and Sicheng again. The two older men have become regulars in Donghyuck’s life, he’s realised, faces that are a part of his every day and he’s never properly noticed.

People who care about him, and want to listen to him.

Donghyuck might not be able to force all his words off of his tongue, might not be able to speak of every issue that plagues at him. But he can speak to these two men, can ask them for things and Donghyuck doesn’t realise how much he wanted it until it became available to him.

Donghyuck smiles up at them, this time caught between something sweet and genuine, but with that hint of mischief that’s going to annoy both of them. ‘Then, Doyoung. Could you teach me archery?’

There’s a pause, before Sicheng groans and Doyoung’s laughter echoes through the café.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [twt](http://twitter.com/neocitz) | [cc](http://curiouscat.me/neocitz)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry about the delay, uni an all that!
> 
> looked over by the wonderful nini, thank you!

 ‘You won’t get away with this,’ Donghyuck dares to say. He wriggles his wrists, so the rope binding them isn’t pressing as tight against the bone. ‘Evil will not prevail!’

Donghyuck is being held hostage in a penthouse office overlooking the Han River. Light pollution from the city illuminates them, cutting through the darkness of the room in soft, blurred lines. Jupiter stands silhouetted against the horizon of Seoul, his hands tucked into his pockets as he turns back to look at Donghyuck, small smirk on his face.

It’s been a good couple of weeks since Donghyuck interacted with a proper supervillain. Most don’t dare raise their heads with the number of superheroes that swarm through Seoul, easily overpowered and humiliated unless they have a _stellar_ plan.

Jupiter is one of the few villains who is actually impressive, in Donghyuck’s books. He doesn’t just wreak havoc on Seoul, he does it with style and class. He doesn’t hide in dingy warehouses, nor does he slink in shady underpasses. He has clean offices, sharp suits and stands with such pride that Donghyuck respects him more than he fears him.

The chair under Donghyuck creaks, ominous in the silence of the room, as he shifts again.

Jupiter raises an eyebrow at Donghyuck. ‘Please do not break my chair, it is an antique and I am very fond of it.’

‘Really?’ Donghyuck immediately stops. ‘Sorry.’

It is, Donghyuck realises upon closer inspection, a very nice chair. Sturdy in design but still beautiful. It’s a welcome change from the cheaper chairs that he’s usually forced into, plush upholstery cushioning his butt.

‘Thank you,’ Jupiter says, turning back to the skyline. His face is unreadable, shielded from Donghyuck through a combination of shadows and the mask he uses to obscure his identity. ‘I have to say, _evil will not prevail_ is a newer line from you.’

‘I saw it in a documentary.’ Donghyuck shrugs as much as he can with his hands bound to the arms of the chair.

‘I think I know the one,’ Jupiter hums. His voice has never been loud, never boomed like some supervillains liked to do, but instead sits in the softest, sweetest register that Donghyuck’s ever heard. He’s killed men, speaking in that tone, and Donghyuck can never let himself forget that. ‘It was about SHINee, was it not?’

‘That’s the one.’

‘Of course you would enjoy that.’ If Donghyuck didn’t know any better, he would say that Jupiter _liked_ him. ‘You mentioned that you were a fan of them last time we crossed paths.’

Donghyuck swallows. Last time they had crossed paths, Jupiter had been just as relaxed and genial. He had smiled at Donghyuck with the same smile, and spoke in the same tone. And while he did it, Jupiter raised a gun and shot a man in front of Donghyuck.

Stalling didn’t always work as well as Donghyuck liked it to.

‘Do not look at me like that.’ Jupiter’s smile dips ever so slightly, dropping in the corners, but his tone doesn’t change as he saunters across the room, a predator in control of his prey. ‘You know as well as I that he deserved being shot.’

‘I’m not sure if I would agree with that, really. I don’t really agree with shooting people.’

‘Please.’ Donghyuck can’t see him, but he can definitely _hear_ the cocked eyebrow of the villain. ‘Hardly fatal, he will be out of hospital in the next few weeks. I doubt he will dare cross me again.’

Jupiter’s voice fades a bit, and Donghyuck has to twist his head to see what the villain is doing. He can barely see the older man open a fridge hidden in the wall of the office suite. There’s silence, just the sound of a drink being poured and then another. He’s alone, _exposed_. Donghyuck can’t help but wonder if today is the day he realises the superhero game is too much for him.

‘You have to agree that he was absolute _scum._ After all, we did meet when we were both trying to stop him, did we not?’

‘Yeah, but we wanted to stop him because he wanted to blow up three streets in Mapo. You shot him because he was selling bombs and you didn’t like sometime trying to take your business.’

‘So, a satisfactory conclusion for both of us then. Neither of us can have those low-quality explosives on the streets of Seoul. May I offer you a drink?’

He holds out one of the two cocktail glasses in hands and Donghyuck shakes his head.

‘I’m, um, underage. Thank you for the offer?’

‘It is ginger beer,’ Jupiter laughs, a light and seemingly harmless sound. ‘I do not drink on the job, and neither should you. Tip for the future.’

‘I mean, as long as it isn’t poisoned, I guess?’

Jupiter lets out a sound, dirty and unsettling for the sort of man that he is. He is, Donghyuck realises after a moment, _offended_ at the notion. Instead, he flicks a small knife and cuts through the rope binding Donghyuck to the chair.

‘Do not worry about standing, I will join you,’ Jupiter says, handing Donghyuck a glass before settling down in the impressive desk chair framed by the night’s sky. ‘I have to say, normally by now your —what do you call him, _mentor?_ — has burst in and told you to stop talking to me.’

‘Yeah,’ Donghyuck scoffs as he takes a sip of the ginger beer, ‘ _normally_.’

There’s a pause before something curls across Jupiter’s face below his mask, a smile that’s sharp at the corners. ‘So, you are alone tonight?’

‘Yeah.’

Donghyuck doesn’t realise it’s a mistake until he’s said it.

Jupiter crosses his legs, surveying Donghyuck over the rim of his glass with dark, steady eyes and a chilling smile. Donghyuck feels exposed where he sits, in front one of the most merciless people he had met over the course of his tenure as a sidekick. He could die tonight, and he’s not sure how soon someone would find him.

He swallows down the fear in his throat, tipping his chin up as he waits for Jupiter’s reaction. Silence echoes between them, before Jupiter speaks:

‘Is that bitterness, I hear?’

‘No.’ Donghyuck’s voice shakes, against his efforts.

Jupiter takes another sip of his ginger beer. There’s a moment, as the mask of his smile flickers into something less amiable, and Donghyuck wonders if this is how he’s going to die.

‘Are you sure?’

Donghyuck feels like he’s on the edge of his seat. His eyes don’t move from Jupiter’s form, watches his every twitch and movement and wonders when exactly Jupiter will snap.

He shakes his head.

‘I take it to mean that today we might actually have a _proper conversation_ for once?’

That is not what he was expecting.

‘Is this a trap?’ Donghyuck blurts out. He takes another sip of the drink, just to distract himself. ‘Are you going to shoot me, like you did with that guy?’

Jupiter laughs, and it feels almost kind in the darkness of the office. There is no sharpness, no mocking edge to the sound that sets Donghyuck’s nerves on edge. Donghyuck would say it’s a relief, but he’s not sure. Not yet.

‘I only shoot people who deserve it, Haechan. I will not shoot you, not tonight.’

‘Thank you?’ Donghyuck says, linking his fingers around the glass. He doesn’t believe Jupiter, not yet. Not when his alias drops off the man’s lips while, by all rights, he shouldn’t know it.  

‘Consider me curious, Haechan, more than malicious. I have watched you a very long time, and I have never seen you without Hana. Nor have I seen you as _quiet_ as I have the past few weeks.’

‘You’ve been watching me.’

‘Of course. I watch everyone important in this city.’

Donghyuck doesn’t know what to do with this information, taking another sip of the drink in his hand. Every part of him feels off kilter, _wrong_ , as he sits in front of Jupiter. Somewhere in the back of his mind he can hear Taeyong, muttering his mantra of _don’t engage with the bad guy_. But Taeyong isn’t here today, and Donghyuck isn’t sure what will happen when he stops talking.

‘You may as well tell me, Haechan. There is no point in dragging out this conversation any more than we need to. I already know about the child.’

Donghyuck holds Jupiter’s gaze as long as he can at the mention of Jisung.

‘You’re not going to hurt him,’ Donghyuck says, his fingers tightening around the stem of the glass in his hand. ‘I won’t let you.’

‘Oh no,’ Jupiter says, ‘of course not. I am far more concerned about you. I know that your mentor has had his focus divided, and it seems that you were the one to draw the short straw. I have noticed that you have been spending more time with others in your little troupe.’

‘And what? You kidnapped me because you were _concerned_? You wanted to have a talk to me?’

‘Something like that, yes.’

Jupiter drains the last of his ginger beer before placing the glass down on the desk in front of him. Donghyuck isn’t sure what’s happening, isn’t sure if this is some elaborate trap to get him to talk. He can handle the banter, the stereotypical back and forth between himself and a villain to buy time. This doesn’t feel like that. Instead, it feels like a cold, harsh truth.

(Jupiter isn’t kind. He has never seemed kind in the time that Donghyuck had chased him in a game of cat and mouse. But he has always been fair, and honest.)

‘We are different sides of the same coin, Haechan. You are passionate in your desire to fight evil, or whatever you like to call it. I respect you a lot for it. If you need someone to talk to, someone impartial, I will be willing to listen.’

‘So that you can use it against us? Destroy Seoul?’

‘Hardly. I swear to you, that should you decide to discuss any of this with me it would be completely separate from this game of ours.’

Donghyuck doesn’t know what to think.

Jupiter’s phone buzzes, and he smiles up at Donghyuck again. ‘If you need me, I will be there. But I am afraid your rescue party is here, so I should leave before anything happens.’

He flicks on a switch at his desk, and the room is flooded with fluorescent light so quickly that Donghyuck has to screw his eyes shut. It only gets worse, brighter and brighter until the lights burst and crackle with wild electricity.

‘Goodbye, Haechan,’ is the last thing he hears, and when the bright lights stop flashing above his head, Donghyuck is alone.

Johnny bursts through the windows, glass shattering as he lands in front of Donghyuck. His figure is majestic, and welcome, but Donghyuck still feels that pit of worry in his stomach as Johnny walks over.

‘Are you okay?’

‘I’m fine.’

‘Sorry I didn’t get there sooner,’ Johnny says, tugging Donghyuck free of the last few bonds. ‘We were having trouble locating you. What happened?’

‘Jupiter. He wanted to talk to me or something.’

Johnny pauses, framed by the dim lights as he looks at Donghyuck. ‘Wanna talk about it?’

‘Jupiter’s tricky,’ Donghyuck murmurs. ‘You never know what he’s thinking.’

‘He’s an interesting one, that’s for sure.’ Johnny combs his fingers through his hair, falling loose from the wind that beats at the two of them through the open window. ‘Not necessarily bad, in the way that some people are, but you have to watch out around him.’

‘You know him?’ Donghyuck stretches, watching as Johnny wanders back towards the window. He doesn’t dare follow. He, after all, does not have the ability to fly and is probably a little bit safer away from the edge. Donghyuck doesn’t want to say he’s afraid, because he’s not, but there’s something that makes everything feel wrong.

Vulnerable.

‘Ten does, or did when he was still a hero,’ Johnny corrects, eyes tracing the streets in front of them. Donghyuck has learnt from the few moments he’s seen Johnny that the older man doesn’t patrol, instead waits for the moments he needs to intervene. ‘Not that anyone has an assigned bad guy or anything, but they’d something special. An understanding and game between them. Jupiter would do something, Ten would stop him.’

‘Do you think he would have hurt me, if you didn’t come tonight?’

‘No.’ Johnny turns to Donghyuck and his gaze is soft and firm and kind. ‘He has morals, twisted as they are. He and Ten had been “enemies” for three years, and not once did he ever harm Ten out of maliciousness.’

‘Interesting,’ Donghyuck breathes, resting his chin on his knees.

 ‘It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be careful around him. He’s decided that you’re important enough to single out, which could be a concern. Don’t ever let your guard down around him, you know that, right?’

‘Don’t worry,’ Donghyuck says. ‘I won’t.’

 

 

‘How did it go?’ Mark asks as Johnny and Donghyuck land next to him. He’s talking to Johnny, eyes flitting over Donghyuck as if he isn’t even there. Donghyuck can’t bring himself to be offended. ‘Did you stop him?’

‘I don’t think there was anything to stop,’ Johnny admits. ‘He just left.’

‘So, you spent an hour alone with one of the most dangerous people in this city, and you did nothing?’ Mark looks at Donghyuck, and there’s no cruelty in his face or voice as he speaks. It somehow makes the words feel even more like an attack.

‘Like you said, Jupiter is dangerous. Even I would dare go up against without knowing I have backup.’ Johnny doesn’t scold Mark for his words, but his hand settles on Donghyuck’s shoulder for a moment. Donghyuck thinks it’s supposed to be a comfort, but in the starkness of their spaceship-base, _Fortress_ , it feels empty. ‘You would have done the same, in his situation.’

Mark presses his lips together, and for a moment Donghyuck can see the flicker of a fight in his eyes. It doesn’t come, and Donghyuck can’t tell if it’s because Mark doesn’t want to argue with Johnny, or in front of him. He swallows his own biting insult, the need to defend himself pushed away in the face of something that isn’t quite fear.

Mark and Johnny’s Fortress isn’t his battleground, and he has no advantage here.

‘The pair of you get something to eat,’ Johnny says, walking over to the console of The Fortress. ‘We're probably going to be here a while, I think it’s going to be a long night.’

It’s a kind but clear dismissal, and Donghyuck’s too hungry to protest. Even if Mark doesn’t look happy, he stands and gestures to Donghyuck to follow him through The Fortress. He barely acknowledges Donghyuck, walking through the labyrinth of corridors, and pulls his phone out of his pocket.

‘You eat chicken?’ he mutters, only audible from the silence of the building around him. ‘I’m going to order some for dinner. ‘

‘That’s fine.’ Donghyuck keeps his eyes forward, fixed on the space next to the back of Mark’s head. ‘You don’t patrol?’

‘The Fortress has an alarm system, it’ll let us know if we’re needed anywhere. We’ll also fly around every few hours, in case it misses anything.’

‘So, we’re stuck here waiting,’ Donghyuck doesn’t mean it to be snide, but it must sound it because Mark spins around to pin him down with a dark glare.

‘You're the one intruding, you're welcome to leave and not come back if you want to.’

Donghyuck ignores Mark, shoulders past him into the small area that serves as a recreation room in The Fortress. It's one of the more familiar rooms in The Fortress, from the various times he had visited before with Taeyong. It is, however, the first time that Donghyuck has felt so on edge in this room. The first time he's been there since he and Mark had their argument, and the first time he had come in without Taeyong.

He doesn't want to tell Mark how awkward he feels, keeps that stiff and cold expression on his face as he walks over to the bag he keeps his homework in.

Silence stretches between them, Mark throwing himself down onto the couch to pull out his phone while Donghyuck instead puts his homework on what seems to be a dining table. He hopes that Mark's not curious enough to use his superior eyesight to read the pages Donghyuck's working on.

It would be funny, in the worst way possible, if Donghyuck was exposed because of some teacher's comments about his horrible handwriting.

(His handwriting's not even that bad, he's just more used to typing these days.)

His homework isn't fun, it never is, but Donghyuck finds himself minding it less these days. The more this mess that is his life gets tangled, the more he wants to avoid it. Homework's a distraction, from the friendships and the lies, and the fights and the silence.

'What are you doing?'

'Math,' Donghyuck mutters, pulling his calculator out of his pencil case and typing in the numbers in front of him. The answer he gets is nowhere close to any of the options of the multiple-choice questions in front of him and he bites out a frustrated curse before realising that Mark's fingers aren't tapping away at his phone.

He looks up, and Mark's watching him with wide eyes.

'What?'

'It's just,' Mark looks guarded, watching Donghyuck with a mix of curiosity and worry, 'half an hour ago you were facing one of the most dangerous men in Korea. And now you're just sitting down and doing calculus?'

'Trig,' Donghyuck corrects, turning back to his homework, 'and it wasn't half an hour ago. A half an hour ago I was watching your superhero mentor baby-talk a cat out of a tree.'

'How do you do it?'

'Do what?'

'This.' Mark spreads his arms around, sweeping it to encompass the room. 'The whole _superhero_ thing.'

'It's my job.' Donghyuck can't tell if it's a trap, waiting for the inevitable bite from Mark, a retort ready on his lips to defend himself against the other boy.

'But you're so,' Mark shrugs, 'emotionless, _heartless_ about it.'

Donghyuck freezes, his shoulders tipping back and straightening in preparation for a fight that he wouldn't be able to win. Not with fists.

'What the fuck did you just say to me?' Donghyuck's voice is low, harsh and grating in the silence of the room around him.

'That's not the right word,' Mark doesn't look apologetic as he says it, 'but you just... don't really do anything to stop, do you? You just focus on what you have to do, and you don't care about anything around you.'

'You're a bigger dumbass than I thought,' Donghyuck drops his pen down to the page and exhales slowly. He doesn't want to fight, doesn't want to make things worse with Mark when the pair of them are trapped in this endless cycle of fighting and working together. 'It's called being professional.'

He debates getting up to get a glass of water, anything to distract him from Mark and his naivety but he doesn't dare wander off in the space of this room on his own.

So instead he sits, ignores Mark's protest in favour of looking at his books. He pretends he pays attention to them, that he's so engrossed in his homework that he can barely pull himself from it. He lets Mark's words twist and turn and rot in his mind, planting these sickly dangerous seeds that will wrap around his thoughts until he can't think any more.

Once, months ago, he might have said that Mark as a sidekick was one of his closest friends. They hadn't known each other's faces, hadn't known each other's names, but they'd a common goal and a friendship built on bantering with each other and trust.

But that trust had faded, and the more Donghyuck learnt about Mark the sidekick the more he worried. Worried that Mark wasn't able to see beyond a friendly face, worried that Jaemin with his sweet smile and his friendly laugh would be enough to distract Mark.

It had certainly twisted him, away from the righteous golden boy that Donghyuck had known into this sharp, defensive person who was as much a danger as Jaemin was.

And yet, despite all this, Donghyuck still wanted Mark back. He still wanted the boy who would stand on top of buildings and command civilians to get out of the way, despite being half their age and stuttering through his words. He wanted the laughter, the joy, the friendship, the _trust._

'You really think that I don't care?'

He can't help blurting his thoughts out and curses himself for saying it when Mark looks back up at him.

'I mean, not really. You just see the job, the fight, the challenge. And when it's not there you can just, what, shut it off and do some homework?'

'Because I have to, I can't afford to stop and waste time. There are only so many hours in the day, and I can't afford to fall behind on one thing just because of my night job.'

'I couldn't do it, Jaemin couldn't do it,' Mark says.

Donghyuck scoffs, ‘The problem isn’t that I’m emotionless. It’s that _you_ let emotions cloud your judgement.’

Mark doesn’t speak to him again, for the rest of the night.

 

 

Donghyuck jolts awake, sitting up with a gasp as he tries to work out what roused him from the exhaustion that still sat behind his eyes and in his bones. He can't place it, not at first, until he hears the rattling snore that cuts through the silence and looks to his left.

Jisung's sleeping on the floor, blankets thrown everywhere, and he snuffles in another loud, wrenching sound.

'Oh, my God,' Donghyuck shakes his head, before pushing himself up.

He'd spent the night on the couch, having already found Jisung asleep on the yo when he returned to the flat after the hours of patrolling and homework he did with Johnny, and Mark. His back wishes that he spent the night at The Fortress instead, because their couch probably isn't lumpy and too short like the one in Taeyong's room.

'Sunbae?' Jisung groans, arm thrown over his arm.

'Go back to sleep, Jisung,' he says, keeping his voice low as he stands up. 'It's Sunday, you can sleep in a little bit longer. You need to sleep as much as possible to grow.' Not that he needed to, Jisung was all limbs and length. Donghyuck didn't feel small next to him, but he didn't feel tall.

'No, I'm up.'

Jisung sits up, hair falling in his eyes and squinting into the dim light that filters through Taeyong's lounge room curtains. Donghyuck glances at the microwave, it's almost midday and he didn't realise how much he needed the sleep in until it actually happened.

'What time did you guys get back?' Donghyuck asks, shuffling over to the bathroom to wash his face and wake himself up some more.

'About two?'

About an hour before Donghyuck got back then, if he remembers correctly. It made sense, Jisung and Taeyong had both been asleep when Donghyuck crept into the apartment, careful not to wake them after the sort of night that they all had.

'Anything interesting happen?'

'Not really, stopped a few car thieves.' Jisung hasn't moved from his spot on the floor, and Donghyuck doubts that he's going to move anytime soon. For someone who is so fixated on being the perfect hero, on getting the job done, Jisung really could be slow at getting ready in the morning.

It is, Donghyuck dares to think, almost cute.

'What about you, sunbae?'

Donghyuck debates it, telling Jisung about Jupiter and his soft, sly voice. But something holds him back, stops him from saying the words. It's something he wants to keep to himself, the conversation that occurred between them. 'Not much,' he lies, and tries not to feel awful for saying so. He doesn’t owe anyone anything, he reminds himself.

‘Do you want breakfast, Jisung?’ Donghyuck offers, because he can tell from the quiet of the apartment and the shoes by the door that Taeyong has already left for work. ‘Do you want me to make something for you?’

There’s silence, before: ‘Yes, please.’

Every day Donghyuck asks that, and every day Jisung hesitates before answering.

‘I’m just making something simple.’

These moments with Jisung always feel more awkward than they need to, like two ships passing in the night. They're similar and Donghyuck likes Jisung, but there's so much more that neither talk about that keeps them apart. Perhaps, if they weren't two boys following the same mentor, they could have been friends in another world.

'Are you staying at home today, or going out?' Jisung's voice is less slurred with sleep, as he rises from the deep state of exhaustion that must still be pulling him back.

'I might go out,' Donghyuck shrugs, searching for a clean frying pan, 'there’s a movie that I want to do see.'

'Why?'

'What do you mean?'

'Why go out? You never seem to spend time here, when you could just stay inside and rest. Don’t you like it here?' Jisung asks.

Donghyuck doesn't answer, instead dumping a dirty frying pan in the sink to try and wash it. He scrubs at the burnt egg, focused on the task in front of him and hoping so desperately that the boy will just stop and go back to sleep or something.

‘Do you not feel comfortable here, sunbae?’  

'No, I don't.' It's as honest as he can be, as he's ever been. 'It's not really my home.'

It’s too empty, too empty and too unfamiliar for it to be a home for Donghyuck. He doesn’t know whether he belongs or is an outsider in this apartment, even if he does appreciate what Taeyong has offered by putting a roof over his head.

'Where is your home?'

'Jeju. City.'

'Why are you in Seoul then?'

'I've got to study,' Donghyuck explains. 'My parents sent me away because Jeju's got more supervillains than it needs, and my school's a good one.'

There's silence. Donghyuck doesn't think that Jisung is curious, but he doesn't seem disinterested either. If anything, the boy looks confused as he considers what Donghyuck is talking about. There's so much youth to him, so much innocence that Donghyuck can't even comprehend.

‘I do like it, and I like Taeyong,’ he says, keeping his voice low as he cracks the eggs into the frying pan. He doesn’t want to think about the fact that this is the most important, most real conversation he’s had with Jisung. ‘But it’s not my home.’

They fall back into silence, and it's not comfortable, because Donghyuck can almost hear Jisung thinking. He’s quick to cook, chopping up some vegetables as the eggs hiss away. He wants to get out of the room, to run away and never look back, but he also needs to stay.

The conversation feels stilted, as he starts it again, but he’s made an effort.

'What about you? Where's your home? With Max and U-Know?'

Jisung shakes his head, hair falling into his eyes. 'Not really.'

'What about before that, then? Before you started training as a sidekick?'

It doesn't strike Donghyuck as odd, until he says it, that Jisung is barely fifteen and yet doesn't go to school, doesn't have parents. Tragic Backstory is something that Donghyuck has gotten used to, in his line of business, but he knows better than to push it. He wonders what Jisung will say, with his stubborn brow and his clear delineation between what is needed to be a superhero and what isn't.

'I don't know.'

'What do you mean?'

Donghyuck watches Jisung, the boy's dark eyes as they settle on his fingers twisting together.

'I don't remember much before Yunho and Changmin rescued me? Just the labs.'

'The labs?' _Rescued_?

'Where they found me. Some lab underneath Gangnam,' Jisung says. He looks less asleep now, but not awkward as he talks. It’s almost, Donghyuck realises, like he’s briefing Donghyuck. 'It doesn't matter though, what's important is what I do in the future. Right?'

'Yeah,' Donghyuck exhales. 'Yeah.' He pauses before, ‘Does Taeyong know about this?’

'I think he does,' Jisung shrugs. 'We don't really talk about it.'

'Of course, he doesn't.' Donghyuck isn't bitter. But he is frustrated, and tired and doesn't know what to say when faced with this mystery of a child. 'So, you've always been like this? Some sort of super sidekick?'

'It's all I've ever known.’

 

 

Donghyuck doesn't end up seeing his movie.

'I thought this was for after school stuff, things to keep us busy during the week. _Not_ to make me come to school on the weekends to work that I'm not even getting graded on,' Donghyuck complains as Renjun drags him back into the art room. 'Why am I at school when I don't have to be?'

'Because if you're not here with me, you're at that apartment sulking,' Renjun says, shoving Donghyuck down into his seat. 'This is good, getting out, doing things that are for us. Yay friendship!'

'Yay friendship,' Donghyuck mocks, reaching for the paintbrushes in front of him. 'I had plans, to go to the movies and everything.'

'There's nothing good out,' Renjun scoffs. 'And you wouldn't dare go see a _good_ film without me or Jeno.'

It's true, he wouldn't. It became their thing, when Chenle wasn't allowed off campus during weekends, and one of the few points of refuge Donghyuck had from the superhero insanity that took up his nights. Until Jaemin and Mark started tagging along to the movies as well.

'I could totally see a movie without you, I'm not that much of a loser,' Donghyuck pouts, reaching for his paintbrushes. It's ridiculous to think that Donghyuck's gotten so invested in this project that he even has his own paintbrushes.

'I thought, that by definition, someone who sees a movie on their own is a loser.'

Donghyuck allows himself one moment, just one, to curse the existence of Mark Lee before turning back to him. He is, of course, smiling and friendly and nothing like the sidekick that Donghyuck had left the night before.

'Nope, seeing a movie on your own is what we call self-care,' he sniffs just to be difficult. Renjun probably snuffles down a laugh, but Donghyuck doesn't pay him any mind as he stares down Mark.

‘Why do you need self-care?’

‘Why does anyone need self-care?’ Donghyuck says. ‘Stressful situations. Stupid people in our lives?’

‘Is your life really that hard?’ Mark raises an eyebrow.

Donghyuck can’t help sharing a laugh with Renjun. ‘You have _no_ idea.’

Mark doesn’t even flinch, just leans forward with a serious curve to his brow and that earnestness that makes him so perfect as Johnny’s sidekick. Donghyuck almost can’t believe that he didn’t pick it earlier, the similarities between the two golden boys in his lives. The way Mark seems to want to help everyone.

‘Do you need help? What kind of shitty people?’

‘Friend of my cousin,’ Donghyuck shrugs. ‘It’s nothing bad, but he’s just stubborn and blind and mean. I’ve tried talking to him, but it never really works.’

‘Sounds like an arsehole.’

It takes so much of Donghyuck not to laugh at the audacity of the situation, not to cry.

‘He is one,’ Donghyuck says, and his eyes don’t leave Mark’s until Renjun shoves a sharp, bony elbow into Donghyuck’s gut. ‘But what can you do about it, huh?’ he bleats out a nervous laughter and looks at Renjun.

‘Why’d you have to creep him out like that?’ Renjun hisses as Mark wanders to the next group of volunteers in the classroom. ‘I know that things are weird, but you don’t have to be _that_ weird.’

‘Sorry.’

He doesn’t feel it.

Donghyuck’s gotten better at painting the sets over the past few weeks, enough that he’s been trusted with painting texture onto the sets as well as actual backdrops. So, he doesn’t need to be guided by Renjun, not anymore as he pulls out the example of what he needs to paint. Donghyuck is not an artist, but apparently there isn’t going to be much light at the school festival.

‘Oh shit, what are _they_ doing here?’

Renjun sounds disgusts, and Donghyuck looks up to see him crossing his arms in front of him. Donghyuck would be scared, if not for the fact that he immediately moves to back Renjun up, tipping his chin up in an almost defence.

Mark wanders back into the room, Donghyuck hadn’t even noticed he’d left, with a small envoy of teenage boys trailing after him.

‘I thought you would want me here.’ For someone who claims to hate anything cringy, Jeno certainly knows how to dial up a pout. ‘I thought I could help you. _We_ could help you.’

‘That’s very sweet of you,’ Renjun sounds almost mocking as Chenle throws himself down onto the table. ‘But you, Chenle and Jaemin are hopeless at art.’

'I am offended, insulted, after all the—'

Renjun holds his hand up, and his glare is enough to make Jaemin's protest fade to nothing, the taller boy tucking his chin into his chest.

'Last time you guys wanted to do an art project, you almost super-glued yourselves together. Don't think I forgot that. And Chenle isn't much better.'

'I am not allowed to touch anything hot, sharp or delicate,' Chenle says, looking at Yeri, who nods once. Donghyuck doesn’t realise how much of a relief that is until the boy says it.

Renjun still looks suspicious, and Mark throws himself around Jaemin and Jeno, the three smiling in a devilish trio. ‘It’ll be fun, something that we can all do together. Don’t be a spoilsport, Renjun.’

‘Yeah, don’t be a spoilsport, Renjun,’ Jaemin imitates. It earns him a patented Renjun Glare, and the threat of a chokehold but he dances out of the way. ‘Just let us do some painting. For all that we’re bad, _Mark’s worse_.’

‘Hey!’

‘I suppose that’s true,’ Renjun sighs. Donghyuck realises, with an almost startling clarity, that sometime between Renjun dragging Donghyuck to this event and them coming in a weekend Renjun was appointed leader of this small event. ‘Jaemin, you go help Minsoo rust the chains. Jeno you can cut up Styrofoam.’

‘And me?’

‘You’re practically an evil genius,’ Renjun muses, and it earns a snort from Jaemin that everyone misses except Donghyuck. ‘Why don’t you design the maze for this thing? We haven’t got a proper layout yet.

‘Just make sure there’s a way in, _and_ a way out.’ Donghyuck adds the words a moment too late and disappointment flashes across Chenle’s face. ‘We can’t trap people in a haunted maze, as much as we would want it to.’

‘Can I make them get a little bit lost?’ Chenle asks, looking at the pages in front of him.

‘Perhaps a little bit,’ Donghyuck whispers, ‘I’m sure that Yeri won’t mind too much.’

The youngest of their small group settles at the table, careful not to get Donghyuck’s paint on him, and pulls out the floor plan with a maniacal giggle. He is, Donghyuck realises, only a couple of months older than Jisung but so _different_ to him. He’s alive and young and there is no burden of the world pushing down on him.

He remembers what Jisung told him only hours before, about a lab being all that Jisung knew.

‘Hey, Chenle?’ he asks, keeping his voice low as Renjun walks Jeno and Jaemin through the steps that they need to complete.

‘Yeah?’

‘You know how I’m living with my cousin right now?’

Chenle looks up, eyes careful and firm and Donghyuck gives a small shrug. ‘So his younger brother lives with us, and I don’t think he really knows anyone here. I was thinking you could come by after school with me sometime, get to know him or something?’

‘I’m not babysitting some kid so that you can play games.’

‘Nah, he’s your age. I think.’

Chenle twists his fingers together, looks up at Donghyuck and he nods slowly. ‘Yeah, I’m cool with that? I mean, it’s better than hanging around with Renjun and Jeno when they’re being all romantic and coupley?’

‘What about Jaemin and Mark?’

‘They always disappear after school, into their rooms and they don’t really want to talk to anyone. I’ve started gaming a bit more.’

Donghyuck exhales.

‘I’m—’

‘It’s not your fault,’ Chenle says. His voice is low, and serious and Donghyuck can’t help leaning over, just to hug him.

‘I need to go,’ Donghyuck mutters, out of the corner of his mouth.

Renjun looks up, his soft eyes serious as he darts to look at the others scattered around the room, before settling on Mark and Jaemin. Their laughter echoes through the room, sets something on edge that stops Donghyuck from feeling comfortable.

The small incline of Donghyuck’s head is all that he needs to give that sigh of permission that Donghyuck shouldn’t feel grateful for.

‘Text me, yeah?’ Renjun asks, taking the paintbrushes from Donghyuck’s hands. ‘When you get home.’

‘Promise,’ Donghyuck says with a small grin, fist-bumping Renjun before standing up with a stretch. He catches the eyes of his friends, giving them a half-wave as he strips out of the paint-stained shirt he’d been wearing a smock.

‘Hyuck! Wait!’

Donghyuck ducks his head down, trying to run out of the classroom and ignore the voice calling out of him. But he’s too late, too slow, and too obvious.

Sunday means that the school is quiet, no longer buzzing with activity. It means that Donghyuck can hear Jaemin running behind him, can hear his voice clearer than anything and there's _nothing_ he can do to pretend otherwise.

'Hyuck!'

'I can't, Nana, I've got an appointment, I'm running late. My cousin is going to _kill_ me,' he lies, refusing to look behind him at the tall mystery of a boy.

'Stop.' Jaemin's voice is firm, and he's faster than Donghyuck remembers because he grabs Donghyuck by the shoulder and spins him around. ' _Please_ '

'Nana. I'm already late...'

'Then you can miss it,' Jaemin's voice is level, 'there's no bus for fifteen minutes so at least until then.'

Donghyuck curses how thoughtful Jaemin, tries not to dwell in how much of that thoughtfulness is a lie and a front. None of the others would have even guessed when his bus comes, not when they just walk across the campus to the dormitories themselves.

'What do you want to talk about then.'

He adjusts his bag on his shoulder, shifting out of Jaemin's grip, and tries not to think about the fact that they're alone in this corridor, alone and vulnerable. They're incredibly human, the pair of them, even if the echo of them being sidekicks sits under their skin.

'It's just,' Jaemin sighs, and when he looks up at Donghyuck, he's almost sad, 'I've been back for weeks now, and I get that you're busy and that you live off-campus now. But... we haven't spent any time together, at all. Properly.'

'Yes, we have,' Donghyuck scoffs, 'we have lunch together pretty much every day, not to mention classes. It’s a _Sunday_ and we’re at school together.’

'Yeah, but out of that,' Jaemin says, and his hand combs through his hair. 'We haven't done anything together, alone?'

'Yes, we have.'

'No. We haven't. Renjun's always there, or Jeno's hanging about.'

'Or you and Mark are off doing a thing.' It comes out harsh, sharp like Donghyuck as a sidekick, and he wishes he can take it back immediately. It makes Jaemin look sadder, smaller.

'Is that what it is? Me and Mark hanging out? Are you mad that I spent time with Mark at first instead of you? I won't make that kind of mistake again, I promise.'

'It's not that,' Donghyuck half-lies, because it is so much more than that.

'What if we did something, just the pair of us,' Jaemin suggests, and it sounds so earnest that Donghyuck doesn't know how to respond for a moment. 'I don't want you to hate me, Hyuck.'

He's so used to hiding himself away from Jaemin and Mark, both in the school and outside of it. So used to waiting for the other shoe to drop, and now Donghyuck can't help but feel like he's been thrown completely off kilter. He looks at Jaemin, with his wide eyes and his hopeful smile.

'I don't hate you,' he stammers out, because in his heart of hearts he doesn't. 'I can't hate you Nana, you're my best friend.'

It's the truest thing he's said to Jaemin in weeks.

‘Then why are you avoiding me?’

If he was honest, Donghyuck thought that Jaemin hadn’t even noticed the distance that began to grow between them. He thought that Jaemin was so determined in his quest to win Mark over that he hadn’t even noticed what had happened in the world around him. He felt like a deer caught in headlights, pinned down by the wide, soft gaze of the boy in front of him.

‘I’m not trying to,’ he swears, his voice soft and a lie.

‘You are. Or if it’s not me then it’s _something_ , because we went from hanging out every day to you running at the sight of me, never eating lunch with us. I get it, you and Renjun are close now but you’re practically _hiding_ behind him because you don’t want to be around me. What happened to us?’

‘You disappeared, for months. You can’t expect things to just fall back into place perfectly, like you never left,’ Donghyuck says, struggling to keep his voice from shaking as a vice tightens around his heart.

‘But I expected us to _try_.’ Jaemin rakes fingers through his hair, stepping back enough that Donghyuck could easily duck out and run again. But he doesn’t, stays planted where he stands as he looks up at Jaemin.

‘So, what? Is that why you chased me out here, because you want me to try harder?’

‘I wanted to talk to you, and yeah I want _us_ to try harder at our friendship. Nana and Hyuck, against the world.’

Donghyuck barely resists letting out a bitter laugh, and instead he looks up at Jaemin. Looks up and puts on that mask that he doesn’t need to wear but does anyway. He forces on an understanding smile, forces out the exhaustion and the fight that has dragged behind him for months.

‘Okay then,’ he shrugs, ‘what do you suggest?’

‘I know a café,’ Jaemin says. ‘You and I, tomorrow after school. We can talk, _catch up_. I don’t know, and I don’t care what we end up doing, but I don’t want to lose my best friend.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [twt](http://twitter.com/neocitz) | [cc](http://curiouscat.me/neocitz)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shout out to literally my entire support crew who got me through this chapter, but especially nini who always looks over these for me.

Donghyuck watches Jaemin wave goodbye to Jeno and Renjun, tapping a too quick beat against his thigh. He’s used to not bidding his friends farewell after school, as it’s become almost second nature for him to slip away towards the bus stop and hide from their questioning gazes.

But he doesn’t have a choice, can’t run away into the distance, because Jaemin stands there with a broad smile on his face as he nears Donghyuck.

‘Sorry, I just had to make sure I got the right notes from Renjun for Math.’

‘No problem,’ Donghyuck says, smiling as much as he can. ‘Where did you want to go?’

Jaemin lights up at the question, and he hooks his arms into Donghyuck’s as he leads them down past the small bus stop. The further they get from the school, the more Donghyuck begins to worry. This is the first time he’s spent time alone with Jaemin, as himself, and there’s no safety net of Renjun to burst in and save the day, no excuse on the tip of his tongue that he can call on to escape into the night before Jaemin can even keep up with him.

‘So, I, uh, found this place a couple of weeks ago. It’s this super cute little café just near the university, pretty cheap and quiet so I figure we can probably have a conversation there, sort things out.’

‘Sounds good.’

His voice sounds faint to his own ears, and it only gets worse as Jaemin drags them to a familiar train platform. The one that takes you to Taeil’s café.

‘The baker guy is _amazing,_ you’re going to love the stuff that he makes,’ Jaemin’s enthusiasm hasn’t dropped at all, as he leans against Donghyuck’s side, ‘I promise you it’s going to be the best croissant you’ve ever tried.’

‘Is it very far from here?’ Donghyuck asks, to fill the silence. He knows it’s not, knows that the trip is a few minutes long and easy to navigate once you’ve hopped on the train, despite the changes. He’s made this trip every day for weeks, and he never even considered that Jaemin might one day do the same thing, that Jaemin might stumble across his secret.

‘Nah, it’s a really short one, don’t worry.’ Jaemin tugs Donghyuck onto the train, squeezing on with the countless other students who take the same line home after a long day at school. ‘I reckon we can probably find one of the tables to sit down at, have a proper talk. Without the others around us.’

‘Are you _sure_ you don’t want to invite the others to come with us?’ Donghyuck asks, even as the train pulls away from the platform. ‘I mean, it sounds like the sort of place that all of us will enjoy together.’

‘Maybe next time,’ Jaemin sounds solemn as he says it, ‘but right now I’m more concerned about spending time with you and you alone.’

Donghyuck might have felt special, months ago when he and Jaemin were two peas in a pod, best friends who thrived off each other’s energy. But instead he feels numb, feels exposed and afraid where he stands as he looks at the boy in front of him.

‘I suppose you’re right.’

Jaemin pulls away, unlinking his arm from Donghyuck’s and for the first time his smile drops into something that Donghyuck shouldn’t be afraid of. It’s sad, and worried and filled with so many emotions and yet Donghyuck isn’t sure how real any of them are.

‘Do you not want to do this with me?’ he asks.

‘No, _no,_ I do,’ Donghyuck hurries to reassure him, even if he knows deep down that he doesn’t have to look after the boy in front of him like that. ‘I’m just... You know, a little bit awkward.’

That, if anything, seems to make Jaemin feel worse and Donghyuck has to bite back a curse.

‘Do you feel awkward around me?’

‘Honestly?’ Donghyuck shrugs as he looks out the window. ‘A little bit.’

‘What did I do?’

Donghyuck can’t tell him, can’t break the silence that has reigned over his life for so long and taken control of the sort of person he is now. He can’t talk to Jaemin and make him understand, because there are so many moments between the pair of them that they cannot control. It makes Donghyuck feel awkward and awful and he wishes he could walk away from it all, his friendships and his life, and start afresh without the secrets that plague it.

‘You didn’t do anything,’ Donghyuck lies. ‘It’s all me, I’ve just been in a weird sort of place since you left. Things have changed, you know.’

‘Is everything all right with your parents? Your grandparents?’

‘They’re fine,’ Donghyuck curses Jaemin for being so thoughtful and kind, ‘it’s all me, I promise.’

Jaemin looks at him, worry and sadness in his eyes that Donghyuck no longer trusts to be genuine. Jaemin has no reason to lie to Lee Donghyuck, the boy that he grew up with, but that doesn’t stop him from thinking that the boy might be.

‘You can talk to me, you know that?’

‘Can I?’

He can’t help the question from falling out, and the fact that Jaemin looks sucker punched in the gut makes Donghyuck feel worse than he ever thought he could feel. He hates how important Jaemin is to him, even after the lies between them.

Jaemin looks down at Donghyuck, with his large eyes. ‘Do you really feel like you can’t talk to me, Hyuck?’

Donghyuck gives a half sort of shrug.

‘I don’t really feel like I can talk to anyone, these days,’ Donghyuck can’t help the snort that is more bitter than amused. He looks out the window, so he doesn’t have to look at Jaemin, watching the streets go by. He can hear the small intake of breath from Jaemin, choosing to ignore it just for those few moments.

‘What’s wrong?’

‘I don’t really want to talk about it, not on this train at least.’

Jaemin falls silent, and Donghyuck knows that he hates it. He sneaks a look at Jaemin out of the corner of his eyes and seeing the way his lips are pressed together, the clench of his jaw.  It looks honest and angry, something that Donghyuck might call the truth after months of lies.

‘You’re going to have to talk to me about it, eventually,’ Jaemin says, his voice that bit firmer. ‘I’m not going to let you beat yourself up and hold everything in.’

Donghyuck can’t help the bitter laugh.

‘Trust me when I say that you absolutely don’t want to know.’

‘You forget that you’re my friend, and I am going to be there for you no matter what.’

It’s the worst kind of comfort for Donghyuck. Because he wants it to be true, but he doesn’t believe it to be and with each day that ticks past Donghyuck gets more and more confused about who Jaemin is a person. He wants this bright and beautiful boy, with his smile and promises of support, to be real. But there’s a second life behind Jaemin that Donghyuck can’t crack, can’t read, no matter how hard he tries.

‘If you say so.’

Before Jaemin can argue back, the train pulls into the station that they need to transfer at and Donghyuck shoves himself through the mass of people. He can hear Jaemin calling him from behind, the curses as the younger boy struggles to weave through the crowd behind him.

It’s as close as he can get to running, to leaving Jaemin behind and hiding from the confusion that is his world now. But, as it must be, Jaemin catches up and when he does, he has a frown on his face.

‘I don’t know what is wrong with you right now, but I will get to the bottom of it,’ he says. It doesn’t feel like a threat because it’s so harmless in the greater scope of things. If Jaemin doesn’t know Donghyuck’s secrets now, he won’t find them out any time soon.

‘If you say so,’ Donghyuck still refuses to look at Jaemin, as he waits for the next train to come. He knows that Jaemin must hate it but ignores that part deep down that tells him that he’s being an asshole to Jaemin. But he can’t tell Jaemin about this, can’t afford to even let up a little bit, because so much more could go wrong. 

‘Excuse me?’ Jaemin’s glare fades into a sunny smile at the words. They turn to a boy who looks a few years older than them. He’s got his own awkward smile, and he’s holding a notebook. ‘Is this yours? It fell out of your bag when you were running across the station.’

He holds it out, and Donghyuck realises that it’s _his_ Chinese notebook, fraying at the edges and name scribbled on the front.

‘Oh, thanks. I didn’t even realise that it had fallen out.’ He tucks it back into his bag, still looking at the smiling boy in front of him. ‘Nice of you to give it back to me, most people would just leave it to die a sorry, subway death.’

It earns him a laugh from the other boy.

‘No worries,’ the boy points to the handwriting on the front page, ‘my friend thought it was mine at first when I picked it up. Same name, you know? Thought I may as well give it back because we have to stick together.’

‘Thanks, I appreciate it.’

The other Donghyuck waves, before jogging away towards a group of boys across the station. Donghyuck turns back to the platform, back to Jaemin, and tries not to let surprise flicker across his face. Jaemin is frowning again, amiable smile having dropped his face as soon as the other boy left.

‘I don’t trust him,’ Jaemin mutters. ‘That guy was _dodgy_.’

‘You’re not serious? He saved my Chinese notes, I need them to pass the subject.’ Donghyuck couldn’t believe the _audacity_ of Jaemin, who tried to burn down a university, saying that someone else was doing something that could be considered dodgy.

‘I’m just saying, I wouldn’t do that for a stranger at a train station.’

‘Well maybe you’re just not as nice as he is.’ Donghyuck manages to make it sound sarcastic. Jaemin’s sigh is heavy as they step onto their second train, this one quieter and the space between them feeling larger.

‘This isn’t making a good case for you, you know,’ Jaemin says, as they speed past stations. He doesn’t try to look at Donghyuck this time, watches the windows as if there was a view to distract him. ‘You say you’re not mad at me, say that you’re not avoiding me. But that’s all you _do_. It’s like we don’t know each other anymore.’

‘Maybe we don’t.’

'Donghyuck, please,' Jaemin says, his voice tight and strained. 'I don't know what I've done wrong, what's happened between us, but it _sucks._ You were one of my best friends before, and now you're just never here, you're always off in your own head and you don't talk to me.'

'What do you want me to do?' Donghyuck says, staring ahead of him and away from Jaemin as they make their way off the second train. The walk to the café is one that Donghyuck knows like the back of his hand, and he makes the turns automatically. 'Because I don't know what you want me to do.'

'I just want you to look at me, to let me know what I did wrong. I'm sick of us pretending that we're okay.'

'I'm going through stuff,' Donghyuck repeats, knowing the vague half-answer is just going to annoy Jaemin that bit more. 'The others have had time to get used to it, is all. You've come in and it's just different, you're just overthinking that it’s because of you. Just stop pushing me.’

Jaemin doesn’t look happy, but Donghyuck exhales slow and steady. He's in control, and Jaemin can't force anything from him as long as they're Donghyuck and Jaemin as boys, not as sidekicks. Even if he wasn't able to bite back the comments, even if Jaemin has picked up on the fact that something is wrong, there is nothing that Jaemin can do.

Not unless he's desperate enough to reveal that he isn't the redeemed soul that Mark thinks he is.

The café looms ahead of them, a familiar storefront, and Donghyuck slows to a stop.

He's in control, but the thought of having their previous conversation pressing down on him and Jaemin is enough to make him feel ill. Donghyuck hates that this is his life now, lies and misdirection and feeling like he doesn't fit in anywhere anymore. He hates the downturn of Jaemin's lips and the worry in Renjun's eyes, and the fact that he hasn't seen Taeyong in three days.

The café is his one last safe spot, and he will not let it be ruined for him anymore.

'How about this,' he proposes, 'once we enter the café, we pretend that this whole trip in didn't happen? Start over. If you don't bring up those kinds of questions again.'

Jaemin hesitates for a moment, eyes dark as he mulls the words over, before he nods. 'So long as you promise that we're not tabling this conversation forever.'

'I promise,' Donghyuck lies.

He leads Jaemin into the café, the bell Taeil installed above the door ringing clear and loud through the relative silence. There's a couple of university students working at the power points, undoubtedly taking advantage of the free wi-fi, but apart from them, there aren't many people in the café.

Sicheng opens his mouth to greet Donghyuck, face freezing as Jaemin steps in behind him. Thankfully, Sicheng is quick (quicker than most people who call themselves superheroes) and he calls out a generic welcome just as the door closes behind them.

'What did you say was good here?' Donghyuck asks, bending over to inspect the cakes that Doyoung must have slaved over that morning as if he hasn't had some almost every day for the last few weeks.

'Croissants, definitely,' Jaemin's voice has already picked up, brighter than ever as he slings an arm around Donghyuck, frustration having melted out of him. Donghyuck hates how he leans into Jaemin, a reflex from years of affection shared between them. 'But also, probably the cupcakes are a good idea? I haven't had them yet.'

'I guess I'll get one of each then,' Donghyuck says, straightening up again. The look in Sicheng’s eyes definitely says that Donghyuck’s not getting any free food today, but it’s probably worth paying after weeks of draining the café’s resources dry.

Jaemin spends more time than Donghyuck picking out what he wants from the stand of cakes and slices. He’s familiar enough with the layout of the stand that Donghyuck is surprised. He has never seen Jaemin at the café, in all the time that he has spent there himself. He had thought that both Mark and Jaemin had forgotten about it in the aftermath of their larger fight.

While Jaemin sorts through the cakes, Sicheng attempts a silent conversation with Donghyuck in raised eyebrows and frowns. It is far more intimidating than Sicheng has any right to be. Donghyuck smiles, feeling awkward and exposed, before ducking his head down to look at the two cakes that Jaemin’s deciding between.

‘I’ll get one of these and an iced americano,’ he announces, tapping his finger on the glass. ‘Latte with sugar, yeah?’

‘That’s the one,’ Donghyuck hums as he steps back from the counter.

‘Paying together or separately,’ Sicheng asks. If Donghyuck didn’t know any better, he’d say that Sicheng was bored. But his voice is low, and his eyes as watchful and as sharp as Doyoung’s. Donghyuck isn’t alone.

'Together,' Jaemin says, shoving his debit card forward before Donghyuck can even protest. Not that he would, he figures that some coffee and cake is the least of what Jaemin owes him. 'And we'll be eating in today as well.'

'Cool.'

It shouldn't be surprising, that Sicheng seems to dislike Jaemin as much as he does. It had taken Sicheng all of about five minutes to adjust to the fact that all his friends in Seoul were superheroes, and then another thirty seconds to declare them all stupid. Jaemin, as a former villain and the reason behind the café's destruction, is representative of all the things that Sicheng seems to dislike.

Knowing this doesn't stop Donghyuck from coughing out a laugh when Sicheng pushes their table number towards Jaemin and proceeds to ignore him very pointedly. Jaemin takes it with a whispered thank you, before leading the pair of them across to a table.

‘So, how have you been?’ Jaemin asks, tossing his bag under the table. ‘How’s living with your cousin?’

‘It’s all right,’ Donghyuck says. ‘I don’t actually see him as much. Between work and his other commitments and stuff. But it’s a place to stay and all that.’

‘Isn’t he supposed to be looking after you? Weren’t you hurt or something.’

‘Concussed. I only needed him to watch over for a few days, to make sure that I didn’t aggravate it.’

‘I’m sorry, that I wasn’t there to look after you,’ Jaemin whispers, and he reaches over to take Donghyuck’s hand, squeezing it tight. Donghyuck forgot how demonstrative Jaemin is with affection, after months of hiding his bruises and scratches from his friends. He squeezes back. ‘How did it happen, again?’

‘Fell off my bed, like an idiot,’ Donghyuck ignores that it was possibly the worst excuse he could have come up with. ‘It was ages ago, anyway.’

‘But you still live with him, rather than at the dormitory?’

‘Taeyong has a better kitchen, and better Wi-Fi.’ And no roommate who would definitely be able to tell that something was amiss when Donghyuck snuck out at night.

Jaemin hums, a long thoughtful sound that Donghyuck doesn’t like.

‘Latte, and an americano,’ Sicheng cuts in, sliding their drinks and plates in front of him. Donghyuck can’t help but notice that he has an additional cookie on his plate. He whispers a thank you to Sicheng, before taking a sip. There’s a touch of vanilla to the drink, but it’s as wonderful as ever.

Jaemin, on the other hand, takes a sip of his drink and places it down on the table with a frown.

‘Everything okay?’ Donghyuck asks.

‘It’s a bit burnt,’ Jaemin winces and instead takes a bite out of the cake in front of him.

‘Are you going to complain?’ Donghyuck has never known Sicheng to burn a shot of espresso. When he turns to look over his shoulder, the other man flashes the brightest, sweetest smile at the pair of them. Donghyuck only just resists laughing.

‘Nah, I probably deserve it.’

'I thought you liked this place,' Donghyuck teases as Jaemin puts the cup back down on the table in front of him.

'I do. But, uh, not everyone here likes me.'

'Is there a reason why?'

Sitting in this café, with Sicheng by the coffee machine, gives Donghyuck a sense of control. This is the closest place Donghyuck has to a home and standing by the register is one of the most terrifying and lovely people that Donghyuck has ever gotten to know.

'I, uh,' Jaemin coughs, smile still on his face as he looks down, 'might have made a bit of a mess the first time I was here.'

'And you still decided to come back? Brave of you.’ Donghyuck drops his bag down on the floor and realises that Jaemin's chosen the one place that Donghyuck always likes to sit when he's in the café. He can't help but wonder if Jaemin and he have the same favourite table, just for a short moment.

Jaemin shrugs, settling into the seat. He looks anything but comfortable, shoulders set firm and hands curled into fists in the middle of the table. 'I didn't really have a choice, they needed me to help clean up the mess.'

'I bet you hated that,' Donghyuck snorts.

His heartbeat thunders in his ears.

'Actually, I didn’t.' Jaemin looks up from his lap. His smile doesn’t split his face, and it almost throws Donghyuck in how serious and calm he looks, eyes locked on Donghyuck with such an intensity that Donghyuck can't breathe. 'It’s good. I’ve met good people from this.’

‘Just from cleaning up a café?’

‘That, and a bit more.’

The words hang between Donghyuck and Jaemin, neither daring to break the moment. Donghyuck’s heartbeat hasn’t slowed or quietened. It roars in his ears, as overwhelming as the curve of Jaemin’s small smile and knowing eyes.

‘I hope you helped them out because it was the right thing to do, and not because they made you.’ Donghyuck’s voice sounds distant to his own ears, like he isn’t saying the words himself, and it doesn’t do anything to break the tension between them. Instead it weighs heavier and heavier.

Jaemin nods, once, solemn and slow. ‘Of course, I did.’

It's almost worse than the fight they had outside, because the words mean more and there isn't anything Donghyuck can do to stop it.

Instead, he just takes a sip of the coffee in front of him, eyes never leaving Jaemin's. He wants to run away, duck into the back until the day is over, but instead, he sits there pinned in place. This is his battleground, this is where Donghyuck has the advantage and he refuses to lose his last safe space.

He also refuses to back down.

'Though, you can never tell these days. If people are telling the truth.'

It makes Jaemin flinch, and he looks down to the food in front of him for long enough that Donghyuck feels a hollow, ugly sort of victory. The smile has dropped, to quick and too sharp to be anything but an instinctual reaction and Donghyuck feels like he's seeing Jaemin for the first time in months.

'I suppose you'll just have to take my word for it.'

Donghyuck doesn't say that Jaemin's word isn't enough, because they both know it. Jaemin looking down at his lap, smile dropped and eyes that little bit softer, feels like an admission but Donghyuck doesn't know if it's of guilt or honesty. He needs to find out, but he's more scared than anything.

He does the only thing he can think of, changing the subject.

'I've heard that Jeno and Renjun are getting worse at the dorms,' he says, taking a moment for his voice to stabilise. 'Chenle mentioned that he's been avoiding them because they're being really coupley.'

Jaemin laughs, and it's not as loud or as bright as it usually is. 'Something like that, why did no-one warn me that they're _disgustingly_ in love? I walked in on Jeno pouting the other day, while Renjun was cuddling him and I wasn't even allowed to join.'

'Did you really want to?'

'Well, there's no-one else I can cuddle at the dormitories.'

It's a conversation that should flow between them, light and teasing as they talk about their two best friends. But instead Donghyuck feels likes he's reading a script that he hasn't memorised properly, stilted and forced. He can't help but wonder when he last talked to Jaemin and felt like he was talking to his friend, like he knew what he was doing.

When he talked to anyone, from his life before and felt like he was just Lee Donghyuck and not so many different parts stuck together from different lives.

'I'm sure Mark won't mind.'

'You'd be surprised,' Jaemin laughs, low and quiet. 'He's different to what you think he is, you know. You really should try to get to know him more.'

'I'm fine, the way things are,' Donghyuck lies, trying not to think about how Mark Lee could have been one of his best friends once upon a time. 'He's busy all the time anyway, I don't want to drag him away from his precious school festival just to hang out with me on my own.'

'Well, you can always work up to it,' Jaemin says.

Donghyuck doesn't disagree. He sighs, twisting a napkin between his fingers as he lets the words and moment settle between them. Silence between him and Jaemin isn't something that's unusual, they're both people who are loud in their affection but have those moments between.

But it feels awkward, in the space of the café thanks to the people they have become. Jaemin doesn't press it, but Donghyuck can see that Jaemin's just as awkward as Donghyuck feels in that moment. He stirs through his iced americano, as if he's going to drink it, and peeks up at Donghyuck through his fringe before looking away.

The worst bit is that it isn't the angry awkwardness of earlier, this is a moment where Donghyuck and Jaemin don't know what to say to each other. They're no longer perfect halves, Donghyuck has become cracked and worn and so different from the sharp, dangerous edges of Na Jaemin.

Donghyuck can't help nibbling on the extra cookie that Sicheng gave him, a distraction so that he can avoid Jaemin's gaze. While before he had felt like he was shying away from Jaemin, and his friends, hiding so much of himself as he tried to crack the truth about them. Now, he has to work out where everything sits again.

The bell of the café rings again, Sicheng shouting out his greeting as he makes a couple of coffees for some college students in the corner of the room. Donghyuck can't help glancing at the people that walk in, just so that he doesn't have to look at Jaemin.

They're both tall, like Johnny tall, and huddled up for warmth from the cool air outside. The taller of the two is laughing, and it breaks the silence that sits between Jaemin and Donghyuck, even unintentionally. The other is quieter, but his smile is soft and indulgent.

'Cute,' Jaemin murmurs, and Donghyuck isn't sure why Jaemin sounds a little sad when he says it.

'Nice to see something that isn't as obnoxious as Jeno and Renjun,' Donghyuck agrees, because the two men settle in next to each other.

'You ever want something like that?'

Donghyuck can't help thinking of Johnny and Ten, of Yuta and Hansol, of Renjun and Jeno. Can't help thinking about the way they fit together so carefully and quietly, in the moments between. He can't help but think about the unwavering, never ending support they have for each other.

It's lovely, and nothing that Donghyuck can have just yet.

'Maybe, one day,' Donghyuck shrugs.

'Mark's a great guy, you know,' Jaemin says, short and sudden and Donghyuck's pulled back three steps in their conversation. 'I don't want you to feel like I'm forcing you to like him, but you guys would get along if you spent more time together.'

'Jaemin,' Donghyuck turns back to Jaemin, raising an eyebrow. 'What are you saying?'

'I know that you guys have a ... different kind of friendship from the ones that we have with him. It wouldn't hurt for you guys to, you know, talk about proper things.'

'Oh, my god,' Donghyuck groans, burying his head in his arms. 'You're just like Renjun.'

'What does Renjun say?'

'That I have a crush on Mark.'

'Do you?'

Donghyuck pulls a face. 'No!'

Jaemin doesn't look wholly convinced, when Donghyuck looks up at him again. It feels the closest to normal for Donghyuck, but it's nowhere near it in his opinion. The tentative way that Jaemin steps around the words. The way that Donghyuck can't help but think about the secrets that lay between him and Mark, which are almost worse than the ones between him and Jaemin.

It should feel like two teenaged boys laughing about their lives, but it only half feels like that.

'Are you sure?'

'Nana,' Donghyuck says, looking up with that same heavy gaze that Jaemin had pinned him with moments ago, 'there is so much that would prevent me from ever having a crush on Mark.'

If anything, that makes Jaemin's face drop even more.

'I suppose life is a little more complicated the more we grow up, isn't it?' Jaemin asks, and Donghyuck can't help but hum in agreement.

'Life just kind of sucks, the more it goes on,' Donghyuck breathes, turning back to look away from Jaemin a moment.

There's more silence, more quiet, that sits between them. Before Jaemin looks up. 'You don't have to hang out with me, if you don't wannt to. I would understand.'

'I do want to hang out with you, Jaemin, I just don't know how to. Any more.'

It feels like a confession and one that Jaemin takes remarkably better than he did just half an hour before. Donghyuck should be more worried, but he can't bring himself to be. He isn't sure if weeks have tension have stretched him too thin, or if he's on the precipice of snapping back in shock.

There's something like a small smile, sad that works across Jaemin's face as he looks up at Donghyuck. He wonders if this is as close to an agreement as they're going to get about this, with so many things lying between them that neither of them are going to say. He doesn't know if he wants to reach across and take Jaemin's hand, reassure him, or run away and give himself time to breathe.

Until.

'I'll have a tea with milk, please,' one of the newcomers says. It's the quieter of the two, and Donghyuck's shoulders stiffen where he sits, because that voice is low and calm and melodic and so familiar and terrifying to Donghyuck. 'What do you want, Xuxi?'

'Hyuck, what's wrong?' Jaemin asks, his eyes narrowing.

'Just a familiar face,' Donghyuck forces a smile, casting another look over his shoulder to where Jupiter stands at the counter.


	8. Chapter 8

The cafe is far from silent, with the hisses of the coffee machine, the chattering of the few college students sitting around the cafe, and the tinny music struggling through the speaker in the corner. But Donghyuck can hear Jupiter’s voice, clear as anything despite its softness, as he talks to Sicheng.

‘That will be everything, thank you,’ Jupiter says.

He looks sweeter in the light of day, the harsh silhouette of his body softened by a too-large jumper and an affection lean into his boyfriend. He glances around the cafe, and Donghyuck can’t help taking in the older man’s form and face and committing it to memory. Without his mask there’s a deception of innocence, he blends into the crowd of civilians and on an ordinary day, Donghyuck would not have looked twice.

It’s just like Jaemin.

Except, unlike Jaemin, Jupiter's eyes dart over to where Jaemin and Donghyuck sit and he _smirks._

Donghyuck’s back straightens on instinct, and he plants his feet on the floor.

'Hyuck?'

Jaemin's voice is quiet, unsure and low, and Donghyuck turns to look back at the younger boy. His eyes are fixed on Donghyuck, only drifting to look at Jupiter and Xuxi for a fleeting, confused moment. They are so wide and innocent that Donghyuck can pretend for a moment that Jaemin isn't a part of this confusing world that has consumed his life. For a moment.

'I'm fine,' he forces out, dragging his chair around so he's sitting next to Jaemin rather than across from him. He faces the entirety of the café, eyes darting back to where Jupiter relaxes with his boyfriend. ‘It’s just a surprise, seeing him today. '

‘You’re acting weird.’

‘No, I’m not.’

He definitely is, but he can’t help it. His body is on edge, muscles tense as he watches the two older boys order their drinks from Sicheng. If the barista notices, he doesn’t react as he shuffles to the coffee machine.

Donghyuck’s eyes don’t leave Jupiter’s form, don’t move from the small lift of the man’s lips and the spark of _something_ in his gaze. He’s spent enough time in the café that he knows what’s close to him. Chairs, mugs, and the secret array of non-culinary knives that Taeil thinks no-one has found.

For the first time since he entered the café, his attention isn’t solely on Jaemin.

Jaemin’s hand rests on Donghyuck’s arm, but Donghyuck doesn’t bother looking back at the other boy. At least, not until Jaemin squeezes Donghyuck’s arm and reaches up to turn his face away from Jupiter and his boyfriend.

‘Are you afraid of him?’ Jaemin asks, soft and in the space between them. ‘I’ve never seen you like this.’

‘No, I’m not.’ Donghyuck’s words are a half-truth. He’s not scared of Jupiter the man but rather the circumstances that led the man there. Jupiter is a weapons dealer, and one of the best. In the few years since he began to work his way up through the underworld of Seoul, not once had he been sighted as a civilian.

This isn’t a coincidence.                         

Jupiter grabs a table number from Sicheng, holding it loose in his hand as he lets his boyfriend lead him through the store. He makes a show of looking around, taking in the art that hangs from the walls and commenting on the _adorable décor, Xuxi_ , but his eyes settle on Donghyuck in the moments between.

'Over there,' he says, nudging Xuxi towards to where Donghyuck and Jaemin sit in the corner. So many empty tables, but they slip into the ones right next to Donghyuck and Jaemin, so close that even Jaemin must be able to tell that their choice is deliberate. 'You guys don't mind, do you?'

Donghyuck doesn't speak, so Jaemin squeezes his hand and plasters on an expression that's open and friendly. 'Not at all.  Please, feel free.'

It grounds him, Jaemin's hand on his, and he hates that it does. Because Donghyuck is caught between two men who hide between half-truths and fake smiles, and he would be floundering otherwise. He pulls his hand out of Jaemin’s, ignoring the hitch in Jaemin’s breath as he settles back into his seat.

‘Hey, I know you,’ Xuxi, the boyfriend leans forward to look at Donghyuck. It’s almost too close, but Donghyuck doesn’t flinch away, shoulders squared, and chin tipped up. ‘You’re the kid from the supermarket, with the giant and the chips.’

Donghyuck doesn’t know where to start, the fact that this man is about as much of a giant as Johnny, or the fact that Donghyuck isn’t a kid. There’s a beat of silence, before he becomes very aware of the fact his mouth is open like a fool.

‘Yukhei, wasn’t it?’

‘Yep,’ Yukhei-Xuxi says with a bright grin. For a second, Donghyuck thinks that he might be unaware of his boyfriend’s identity as Jupiter. But then he flashes a smile at Jupiter before turning back to the two boys sitting at the table. ‘And if I remember, your name was _Donghyuck_?’

‘That’s the one,’ Donghyuck’s words stick to his throat as he tears his eyes away from Yukhei and back to Jupiter.

‘Pleasure,’ Jupiter smiles, benign and sweet and chilling. ‘Lovely to meet you, Donghyuck. My name is Jungwoo.’

There’s a weight to the air, something behind the man’s eyes, and Donghyuck swallows down the lump in his throat. He’s aware that he’s not being subtle, that Jupiter, _Jungwoo_ , can read him like an open book where he sits. But in exchange, Donghyuck knows in the depth of his gut that Jungwoo is telling the truth.

‘And I’m Jaemin,’ Jaemin says, sharp and brisk into the silence that hangs between the four of them. His eyes have lost their friendliness, even if his smile is still stretched wide, and a year ago Donghyuck would have thought it cute that Jaemin would try and protect him.

Now he knows what Jaemin is capable of, Donghyuck is almost afraid.

‘Grabbing some coffee after school?’ While Jungwoo is saccharine, Yukhei is eager and honest in the way that he speaks and Donghyuck would have made the mistake of trusting him, when he was bright and eager and naïve. ‘I wish we did that when we were in school, babe.’

‘With the amount of caffeine _and_ sugar you used to consume? There was a reason we avoided it.’ Jungwoo rolls his eyes, flashing a smile at Donghyuck as if they _share_ something in the statement. ‘He would be bouncing off the walls, even without the extra energy.’

‘Not at the same time,’ Yukhei complains, with enough of a pout to the words that it softens Jungwoo’s smile. ‘I wouldn’t ruin coffee with sugar.’

‘A man after my own heart.’ Jaemin’s eyes are still a little wary, darting back to Donghyuck with a question that Donghyuck can’t answer, but he allows Yukhei to lighten the conversation. Yukhei seems to take that as an invitation to push through the tension,

Everything simmers beneath their conversation, and Donghyuck doesn’t know what he’ll be able to do when it boils over.

Jungwoo’s eyes are gentle, as he watches Yukhei and Jaemin descend into some sort of mad conversation about coffee. Donghyuck doesn’t know if he should dare speak up, not when he doesn’t know what the men in front of him are trying to do. But Jungwoo leans forward, with that smirk and that dangerous tilt of his head.

‘Did you get home safely?’ Jungwoo asks. ‘After I had to leave the other day?’

Donghyuck snorts, knowing full well that the sound is bitter. ‘I’m sure you care so much about that. What are you doing here?’

'I do care,' Jungwoo says. 'I know you do not believe it, and you probably will not for a while. But not everything is black and white.'

'Why me then?'

Jungwoo smiles. 'I am not going to tell you, but you will find out in due time I promise.'

Donghyuck presses his lips together, and for a brief moment thinks back to the times when he was younger, freer and completely unaware of the dangers of the world. It was simpler, then, and he doesn't know if he misses it or not. 'I don't know if I want to, I'd rather if you just stayed away from me.'

'If that is what you want,' Jungwoo says, and he grabs a napkin, 'then I will stay away from you. But if you need me, or you need Xuxi—'

'I won't.'

'If you need either of us, these are our phone numbers.' Jungwoo folds the napkin in half, numbers carefully written on it in ink. 'I do not mean you any harm, and neither does Xuxi. I suggest you keep this.'

Donghyuck takes the napkin, shoving it into his pocket.

'It might be useful for you one day,' Jungwoo says.

'Is that supposed to be some sort of suggestion? That I call you one day for a favour or something?'

'It is for emergencies, or if you think you ever need it,' Jungwoo says. 'I will not hold something like this over you, Donghyuck.’

He seems to want to say more, but his eyes dart to where Jaemin and Yukhei are still talking about coffee. Yukhei sneaks a look at him, glancing away from Jaemin for a moment, before turning back towards him with a joke that has Jaemin barking out in laughter. Donghyuck swallows, and his fingers curl around the sleeves of his jumper. 

'You may find yourself in a position that your friends are unable to help you with, I will be there if you need me.' It doesn't feel like a threat, but Donghyuck can't tell the difference anymore.

 

 

'Are you sure you don't want me to take you home?' Jaemin asks, as they make their way back to the train station. Donghyuck would have probably left him at the entrance of the café, stayed back and talked to Sicheng or something, but Jaemin had offered to take Donghyuck's bag and refuses to give it back. 'I don't want you wandering around the city at night, it's not safe.'

'I'm perfectly fine,' Donghyuck rolls his eyes, 'I do have to get home every day after school, you know.'

'Doesn't mean I'm not allowed to worry.' Jaemin casts a look down at Donghyuck, unreadable and quiet. It's one of those moments that Donghyuck doesn't quite understand, a space between the bright and happy Jaemin of his youth and the destructive villain under probation that leaves Donghyuck off-kilter. He tries not to think about it, not wanting to make himself more confused than he already is.

'I'll be fine,' Donghyuck insists as they make their way through the streets to where the train station is. 'I'm not the one with a curfew, anyway.' Jaemin falters, just for a moment, and Donghyuck sees a flash of something that could be shame and amusement in his eyes. 'What was that?'

'What was what?'

'That smile.'

'I might have to sneak out after curfew tonight,' Jaemin says, plain and open. In another universe, Donghyuck might have groaned at how _bad_ Jaemin is at being a sidekick. But in this one he can’t tell what’s a mask and what isn’t, and he just needs to get away, to shut out the world.

He has no doubts that Jaemin can sneak out of the school, he’s clever _and_ has been working with Hansol and Yuta for the past few weeks. But Haechan knows that, not Donghyuck, so he huffs out a sigh.

‘Don’t get yourself into trouble, it isn’t worth it.’

‘It’ll be fine, I’m going with Mark and we both know that none of the teachers would dare give him detention.’

Donghyuck can’t help the ripple of uneasiness that works over him, knowing that Jaemin and Mark will be alone through the night. Mark is too trusting, and too proud to admit it, and Donghyuck is sure that trust will leave them vulnerable. One day Jaemin will take that blind faith, and destroy Mark and countless others caught in the crossfire.

‘We’re just hanging out.’ Jaemin is quick to speak, when Donghyuck has been silent for a beat too long. ‘I’m not replacing you with him or anything.’

‘I know that,’ Donghyuck says, ‘I’m not thinking that, I promise.’

Jaemin stops at the subway entrance, Donghyuck’s school bag still thrown around one shoulder. He’s silent, in the way that he can be between the loudness, and Donghyuck doesn’t know why that makes him unsettled. His eyes are serious and level and Donghyuck doesn’t want to break the silence between them, can’t break the silence between them because it’s not his place to.

‘You are important to me, Donghyuck,’ Jaemin says, stepping forward so that Donghyuck has to tilt his head up to maintain eye contact. ‘The _most_ important to me, and I will never replace you or prioritise someone over you.’

Donghyuck feels knocked breathless.

Jaemin’s lips curl up, a smile that isn’t bright and broad, but small and secret between them. ‘Get home safe, yeah?’ he says, and Donghyuck takes his bag with a slack grip before Jaemin waves goodbye and disappears down into the subway.

‘Fuck,’ Donghyuck spits out, ‘ _fuck_.’

He ignores the scandalised gasp of an older couple walking into the subway, dropping his bag to the ground as he stumbles away from the entrance. He gives himself a moment, to sit on the sidewalk and steady his breathing, still his heart after hours of being alone with Jaemin and the confusion that he inspires.

He fumbles for his phone, not the smartphone that’s a little beat around the edges, but the brick of a phone that Hansol and Taeyong built for him. He’s tapping out numbers that he knows off by heart, only realising he’s doing it when his thumb hesitates on top of the last number. He looks down, at Taeyong’s emergency number on the small screen of the phone and then backspaces through the phone to lock it.

He’s not sure what kind of report he can make, not yet.

 

 

'I'm home,' Donghyuck calls, into the empty apartment.

His words don't even echo, they settle into the cracks and the corners to be forgotten in minutes. Donghyuck closes the door behind him, slipping off his shoes and laying them neatly in the corner. Taeyong's favourite sneakers and Jisung's only pair of shoes are missing.

He slips on the pair of slippers that he wears around the apartment, stepping into the main space of the room and taking it in for a moment.

He'd been the one to sleep on the Yo the night before, and it sits folded up in a corner where he left it. But Jisung's blankets are strewn over the couch, a pillow fallen to the floor, and he shuffles over to fold them neatly because he _knows_ that Taeyong hates it when things are messy like that. Donghyuck fluffs the pillows, more than he needs to, as he tries to work out what to do.

It only takes him a few moments to slip out of the starched, uncomfortable school uniform into his own clothes. There isn’t much, a few shirts, some jeans and the jumper his friends got for his birthday last year. His clothes sit folded neatly in a corner, while the rest remain in his dormitory closet with Jaemin.  This is his life here.

He isn't rostered for a patrol tonight, no news from Johnny or Yuta saying that he'll be following them around through the streets, and his recent habits have meant that, for once, Donghyuck is completely ahead on all his subjects and not at risk of failing.

He doesn't have anything to do, and he hates it.

In the few weeks that he'd been living with Taeyong, Donghyuck had gotten very good at not spending time in the apartment alone. It isn't his home, and he feels like he's walking on glass whenever he paces around the space of the apartment. One wrong step and he could shatter the tranquillity that Taeyong has built for himself. But at the same time, it's more welcome than the cramped dormitory room he and Jaemin have called theirs for the past two years.

If the thought of Jaemin and Jungwoo wasn't tugging at his mind, dragging him deeper into the confusion of that had taken over his life, he might have been able to lie back on the couch and find a game on his phone to distract himself. But his fingers tap, restless and mindless against the screen and Donghyuck has to put his phone down.

Instead, he spins on his heel and walks across the apartment to the fridge. Jisung and Taeyong are likely going to be out patrolling until late with little more than a couple of pieces of fruit in their utility belts, and Donghyuck just wants to feel useful for once.

The fridge is virtually empty, Donghyuck can't remember the last time they ate together, and he reaches for the few fresh ingredients they have left in the attempt to make something that might be satisfying.

Donghyuck tries not to falter, tries not let his mind wander or stall, as he starts cooking, but he can't help himself from getting lost in the spiral of thoughts that threaten to overwhelm him at any one point. He washes the vegetables with a practised hand, even if his mind drifts back to the events of that afternoon.

He hadn’t realised how long it had been since he last spent time with Jaemin. He is supposed to be observing Jaemin for Taeyong and Taeil, and yet he had only spent short bursts of time with the boy before running away to hide from the mess of emotions and thoughts that tear at him when he’s in Jaemin’s presence. Their time heading to the cafe, their time spent chatting over their coffees, felt so genuine and yet Donghyuck knows that he has to crack that facade to reveal that real Jaemin beneath. 

 Each minute spent in Jaemin's presence makes Donghyuck feel more confused than the last. He's not sure if he wants to spend the time he needs with the boy, to separate Jaemin his friend, from Jaemin the Almighty. He doesn't want to peel back the layers of Jaemin's laughter and smile, to find something underneath that he doesn't want to see. 

He doesn't know how he'll handle it, as much as he's prepared for it. 

Donghyuck drives the knife through the food with practised precision, scraping everything into bowls as he surveys the ingredients in front of him. It keeps him steady, the familiar weight of the blade in his hand and the echoing thuds against the wooden board in front of him centring Donghyuck in Taeyong's living room. 

He tries to think about the food he needs to make, about the fact that they've been eating takeout from the fast food place around the corner for days. He tries to focus on making each piece perfect an even as the last. He tries not to think about the fact that he's teetering on the edge of too much and not enough at the same time. 

He knows, deep down, that if he moves back into the dormitories that he would have a better chance of observing Jaemin. That he might be able to spend enough time with him that Jaemin would begin to slip up and drop the character that he wore at every point in his day. But the thought of spending every second, minute,  _hour_ , with Jaemin makes Donghyuck's stomach churn, overwhelmed at the idea of never being able to take a break, a moment from the person that he had to pretend to be. 

But at the same time, Donghyuck can't tell if it's any better than the solitude of Taeyong's apartment. He can't remember the last time he was here at the same time as Taeyong, can't remember the last time he sat down on the couch and didn't feel like he was intruding on a space that wasn't his own. Standing on his own, feeling like an outsider and too lost in the space between Donghyuck and Haechan, is worse than he’d like.

The stove flickers to life, as Donghyuck rummages around for a frying pan and some sauces to throw into the vegetables. He’s careful, scraping the vegetables across the hot surface, as he tries to order the hundreds of thoughts that flash through his mind, tries to piece together the fragments of the person that is Lee Donghyuck.

He doesn’t miss the quieter times, of when he used to curl around his phone and read the articles about heroes aloud to Jeno, ignorant of the world around him. He knows that he’s smarter, _better_ , from the way that his life had turned out under Taeyong’s tutelage. But he does miss the simpler moments, when the sky was blue, friends were friends and evil was a concept that could not touch him.

It’s only when Donghyuck finishes cooking his dinner that he realises that his phone has gone off.

It’s his burner, lying on the floor next to his schoolbag, and Donghyuck’s stomach drops at the sight of the screen lighting up. He drops the chopsticks to the counter, walking across the room to where the monochrome screen fades back to darkness. He hesitates, only for a moment, before he lifts it up.

To his surprise, it isn’t Taeyong telling him that the city is burning down.

> **jaeminnie** 🤖  
>  _aren’t you coming to the meeting today?_

 

 

Donghyuck readjusts the mask on his face, a second skin after months of being a sidekick, and pulls the hood of his jumper up higher. The address for the meeting is on his phone, his actual personal phone, because the twisting streets of Sangam-Dong are unfamiliar and he’s running late enough as it is. As he walks, he strips off the remnants of Donghyuck the civilian. He knows that he’s going to be the only one dressed, apart from maybe Taeyong and Jisung, and that everyone else is going to be lying around the room relaxing.

But he can’t afford that, _they_ can’t afford that.

He slips down streets and alleys, winding and cracking, with an eye darting into the shadows behind him. He’s confident he’s not being followed, but he has to be sure today. He rounds around a corner for the second time, making sure that no-one had followed him through the twists and turns, before finally stopping at the front door of the safehouse they’re meeting in.

This isn’t one of the ones Donghyuck’s been to before, this isn’t Johnny’s ship or Hansol’s apartment. It’s faded and old, so nondescript that Donghyuck would have missed it if he hadn’t been scouring the streets for the address. Donghyuck has to knock on the door, rapping his knuckles against the wood, and wait to be let in because there doesn’t even seem to be a functional doorbell.

‘You’re late,’ Taeil says, when he opens the door and steps aside to let Donghyuck into the house. He doesn’t look disappointed, doesn’t look disapproving, but Donghyuck has to stop his shoulders from slumping under Taeil’s gaze. ‘We haven’t started though, we’re still waiting for Johnny and Mark. Don’t worry.’

The smile that he gives Donghyuck is gentle, kind.

‘Sorry,’ Donghyuck still says, head ducked down as he slips his shoes off. ‘I didn’t actually know that this was happening today.’

Taeil lets out a hum. Donghyuck doesn’t know what it means, but before he can ask Taeil is guiding him through the house.

‘This is one of my bases,’ Taeil says. Donghyuck’s almost sure he’s saying it to fill the space between them, but he only lets out a little nod. ‘It’s not active, hasn’t been since I retired, but it’s large enough for all of us.’

Not for the first time, Donghyuck wonders why Taeil retired. He’s one of the most powerful of the heroes that he’s met, but Taeil seems content to let the others do the work and only step in when it was absolutely necessary.

‘You have a lot of stuff,’ Donghyuck says, because he does.

Taeil’s safehouse is filled with items. There are news articles pinned to the walls, blades hanging from hooks, cables twisted together. They walk past one room and Donghyuck can see a super suit moulded to a mannequin, although it doesn’t look like anything he’s seen before.

‘I’m the main point of contact between our team and a lot of people,’ Taeil says, with that stupid calm smile of his. It’s unreadable in a way that is different to Jungwoo’s and Jaemin’s because it’s enigmatic and slight and Donghyuck knows that Taeil takes pride in that. ‘I get a lot of gear from our seniors, often to be rebuilt or modified for our own use, as well as intelligence. We have to organise what we know, take advantage of it.’

‘That doesn’t sound like retirement to me.’

‘Well,’ Taeil lets out a little laugh, ‘they’d be lost without me, let’s be honest.’

Donghyuck can’t disagree, letting out a small snort of laughter of his own as Taeil turns back to look ahead of him. Taeil has always been the reluctant glue that tied their group together behind the scenes, as much as Taeyong seems to lead them in the field.

‘You never think about returning to be an active hero?’

Taeil pauses for a moment, back turned to Donghyuck, and Donghyuck wonders if he’s said the wrong thing until Taeil shakes his head. ‘Some people aren’t built for this, and some people are. I might want to do the right thing, and I might have the powers to be able to do it. But I’m not a natural at this, I contribute better in intelligence than in fighting and it took me a long time to realise that.’

Before Donghyuck can ask anymore, he’s ushered into a large living room.

It’s not like Hansol and Yuta’s apartment, from the last time Donghyuck attended one of these meetings, with laundry tucked away in a corner and a game console hooked up to the television. Instead, there are a series of couches and armchairs, all with the same mismatched charm of Taeyong’s Lair, crowded around a low, but large coffee table. Taeil has whiteboards set up on one side of the room as well, covered in notes and cases that Donghyuck half recognises from his own patrols.

‘Johnny and Mark are on their way,’ Yuta says as Donghyuck squeezes around the couches, trying to get to the empty spot next to Jisung. ‘They shouldn’t be more than a few minutes, and then we can get everything started.’

Donghyuck realises that this is the first time they’ve all congregated like this in weeks. Taeyong is flicking through some files that are scattered out on the table, Jaehyun and Hansol are talking quietly in a corner, and Jaemin sits next to Yuta as Taeil settles in. Even Ten is there, although he’s the only one with a laptop balanced on his knees and a cup of tea in his hand, not paying attention to anyone around him.

Donghyuck stops in front of Jaemin, knowing that he must look out of place with his mask and favourite black hoodie pulled up and obscuring his face. ‘Thanks, for telling me this was on. I would have missed it otherwise.’

Jaemin is silent for a long moment as he looks up at Donghyuck, before he nods once, smile blooming across his face. ‘No problem.’

Donghyuck just nods, before slipping into the space next to Jisung. The younger boy is the only one dressed like him, in his full costume with mask and hood obscuring his face. It makes Donghyuck feel less like he’s standing out, when he settles in a bit more.

‘I’m _so_ sorry,’ Taeyong says, putting the file back down on the table. ‘I completely forgot to let you know about this meeting, didn’t I?’

‘It’s fine, hyung,’ Donghyuck says, even though it’s not.

‘I thought I had left a note, but I must have forgotten to,’ Taeyong runs a hand through his hair, ‘I’ll make sure to text it to you next time, so that you know.’

‘Don’t worry, you’ve been busy.’

‘That’s no excuse,’ Taeyong says, looking so genuinely apologetic that Donghyuck can’t even begin to agree. ‘I should have been more aware, I’m so, so sorry. This isn’t something to take lightly. I’ve just been running around so much, with Jisung.’

‘It’s fine,’ Donghyuck says, and it must be enough to ease Taeyong at least for now because the man turns back just as Mark and Johnny wander into the living room. There’s a change in the room, Ten closing his laptop and uncrossing his legs, and everyone turning to where Taeil is settled on his own couch.

‘We have a lot to discuss,’ Taeil says, leaning forward to pass out the files on the table. ‘Most of which has to do with what Taeyong and his new sidekick, Yeolnet.’ He points to where Jisung sits, the small boy looking up with wide, surprised eyes before he gives a little half wave.

‘As most of you know, Haechan and I had a run in with the group Winner a few weeks ago,’ Taeyong says. He often claims he’s not a leader, but he controls the room, everyone looking at him with either curiosity or respect, and Donghyuck remembers why he decided to try training under the man in the first place. ‘Through our patrols, Yeolnet and I have seen evidence that they’re working with some other groups in the movement of rare and dangerous organic matter.’

‘Do we know who they’re working for?’ Yuta looks up, all traces of the genial smile that Donghyuck’s used to gone. There’s a furrow to his brow, a tightness to his shoulders that reminds Donghyuck, reminds all of them, that their life is difficult, and serious.

‘We’re not sure yet, all we know is that Winner and another group have been spotted with similar shipments of plants that are known for being toxic. We don’t know anything about the other group, except that they’re large and they’re much more familiar with the streets than Winner. They’ve escaped us a few times already.’

Donghyuck tries not to think about how he’s been rescuing cats from trees, stopping car thieves and muggers, because he knows there’s no hierarchy of heroic deeds. But he can’t help but feel useless, as Jaehyun starts talking about a couple of the boys who had eluded him a few nights before, for how little he’s able to contribute to the conversation.

‘The point is,’ Taeil says, ‘we’re not able to run this like we usually do. This is organised, whatever it is, and we need more hands on than just our three people. Jaehyun, your probation is over effective immediately, and we’re going to need you three to run some more stuff on your own.’

It takes Donghyuck a moment to realise that Taeil means him, and Mark and Jaemin.

‘Hyung?’ he hopes his voice doesn’t sound as strained as it does to his own ears.

‘We’ve got a bit of intel on them, but not much,’ Taeil looks almost apologetic, ‘but there’s at least eleven people that we’re dealing with. In order for us to be smart about this, we have to take advantage of our resources. You three need to work as a team, we’re not expecting you to go out on your own or anything, but we really need you guys to do this. Do you think you can do this?’

Donghyuck thinks about the fact that he doesn’t know Jaemin as a hero, about the fact that Mark is blind to what is in front of him, about the fact that the job comes first. He looks to the men around him, who are all looking on expectant, and swallows down the worry and fear that sits at the base of his throat.

He looks at Mark, who looks a second away from speaking up, and then at Jaemin, who looks like he would never dare.

‘What do you want us to do?’ he says.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am so so sorry about the delay on this, and i really hope that you enjoyed it! shout out to nini for looking over about half of this for me. let me know what you think!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> un-beta'd as usual

 ‘What do you do,’ Donghyuck asks, trailing after Doyoung, ‘if you think your phone has been tampered with?’

Doyoung stops, looks at Donghyuck with an expression that is cold and serious and so unlike the smile that he usually dons. ‘What do you mean tampered with?’

‘I mean,’ Donghyuck pulls his burner phone out and hands it to Doyoung, ‘I never saved Jaemin’s number, yet he’s in my phone. And I don’t know how that happened.’ 

Doyoung takes the phone with a furrowed brow, clicking through the pages with as much dexterity as one can with a phone as basic as it is. He nods quietly, more engrossed with the phone before he looks up at Donghyuck. 

‘This is one of the phones that Hansol updated, isn’t it?’

‘It is,’ Donghyuck twists his sleeves in his fingers, ‘I’ve followed all the rules as well, I don’t save any numbers in my phone and I delete every text after I’ve read them. Except,’ he points to the text on the screen, innocuous and yet so dangerous, ‘this one.’ 

‘Are you sure that it’s him?’

‘I don’t see how it could be anyone else. And _he_ texted me.’ Donghyuck shrugs as he takes his phone back from Doyoung, slipping it into the pocket of his hoodie. ‘It wasn’t someone else, it was definitely him.’

There’s no way it could be anyone _but_ him. Donghyuck doesn’t know how Jaemin could have gotten the phone, how Jaemin could have saved himself into the phone, when it never leaves Donghyuck’s side. But it had happened and Donghyuck has to deal with it. 

Doyoung tucks his hand into the pockets of his coat, bracing himself against the wind. They’ve been walking for about twenty minutes, since Doyoung woke Donghyuck up and dragged him out of the apartment while Taeyong and Jisung slept. 

‘Are you worried about it?’ 

Donghyuck stops for a moment, surprised by the question. It’s only when he hears Doyoung’s steps get quieter that he jogs to keep up with the man. 

‘Of course.’

‘Then what do you think you should do?’ 

It’s not a question, at least not one of curiosity. 

‘Tell Taeyong, and the others,’ Donghyuck admits as he and Doyoung round another corner. ‘So that we can add this to the file on Jaemin.’

‘Then why haven’t you done it yet?’ Doyoung asks. He’s stopped outside of a storefront, with boarded up windows and a chain and padlock wrapped around the door handles. It looks like a small grocery store, forgotten in a quiet corner of the city. ‘Because I’m sure you’ve had plenty of opportunity to.’ 

‘I didn’t want to bring it up in front of Jaemin.’

Doyoung hums again, before stepping through the crack in the door and into the store. Donghyuck knows better than to judge a building from its outside, but he’s still surprised by the difference between the interior and exterior of the store. 

The paint chips away under his hand where he braces himself against the doorframe, and the glass is so dirty that you can’t look into the store through the cracked windows. It’s dark, as he pulls the door closed behind him, but Donghyuck trusts Doyoung as he follows him through another set of doors and waits for him to flick the lights on.

‘Whoah,’ Donghyuck breathes, ‘how big is this place?’

‘Bigger than it looks.’

Doyoung casts a proud look around, and he deserves to.

It’s a converted warehouse, stretching deep into the distance from where they stand at the entrance. Donghyuck can’t help the small gasp of awe as he slowly makes his way into the room. It's nothing like he's ever seen before, the traces of what might have been completely eradicated by the upgrades and installations that Doyoung had added to the room.

'What the hell is this?'

Doyoung doesn't even tell him off for swearing, just laughs quietly.

Over half the room is empty, a wide-open space with a couple of scattered concrete blocks, but the front of the room is a somewhat familiar set up. A series of tables are spaced out evenly across the width of the room, a few black cases placed on the outside ones whilst the middle is set up like a computer desk. A few whiteboards sit pushed against the wall, long since abandoned. Donghyuck only needs to look at the computer a moment to recognise the tell-tale signs of Hansol's upgrades, with a few dints and scorch marks on the side but a state-of-the-art screen waiting for them to log in.

'This is, _was_ my base when I was an active hero. I mostly just use it for training now.'

Donghyuck knows that Doyoung was injured to the point where he had to retire, permanently, but for some reason he always thought that when Doyoung hung up the tights and domino mask, he hung up all parts of his life. But it's obvious, from the clean surfaces and a half-charged tablet lying on a nearby table, that he's spent more time in this building than any of them had realised before.

'You mean you still train?’ Donghyuck breathes, unable to hide the fact that he's impressed.

'Not as well as I used to, and I’m definitely not at a point where I can keep up with a fight, but I do it for fun,' Doyoung says. There’s something in this voice, Donghyuck can’t really put his finger on the right word but he thinks Jeno would describe it as _wistful_. It hangs in the air, as they look out across the length of the room.

Doyoung walks over to one of the black cases, flicking the clasp on the side before turning back to Donghyuck.

'It’s hard, when the person on the other side of the battle is one of the closest people to you. You don’t know if you should do the right thing by them, or by the job.’

‘Hyung?’

‘I’m guessing that’s why you haven’t talked to many people about Jaemin, why you’re still trying to work out what to do with him hacking your phone when the answer is clear.’ Doyoung snaps the case closed before moving to the next one. ‘Am I right?’

Donghyuck is silent for too long, but Doyoung doesn’t push.

‘He’s my _best friend_.’

‘And?’

‘I don’t want Jaemin to be evil,’ the words taste sour on his tongue, ‘but he hurt people, he hurt _me_. I can’t believe that he just flipped a switch and became the good guy because we caught him?’

‘But you want to believe it, because you want to believe the best in him,’ Doyoung finishes. His lips are curled into a tired smile as he snaps another case closed. ‘Donghyuck, the fact that you’re putting what’s right before what you want? That’s a sign that you’re better at this than you know.’

Donghyuck doesn’t feel like it, with the confusion that wars inside him.

‘But I hope you remember,’ Doyoung walks back over to Donghyuck, ‘that not everything is black and white in the world. It’s naïve to reduce everything to good and bad, when there are so many different facets to humans that we cannot understand.’

Donghyuck feels like his breath is caught in his throat, when he looks up at Doyoung. ‘What do you mean?’

Doyoung swallows as he steps away from Donghyuck. He doesn’t speak for a long moment, too long a moment and Donghyuck is about to brush past the question when Doyoung looks back at him and speaks.

‘Have you heard of Gong Myung?’

Donghyuck shakes his head. He doesn’t know whether Doyoung looks relieved or not, the man’s face unreadable in the silence.

‘I didn’t think you would, we rarely deal with cases similar to him. He’s a contract killer.’

Donghyuck freezes.

‘He works for the government, although they'll never say it. His job is to kill people, and he’s my older brother.’

There’s resignation in his tone, something that hangs over the pair of them. Donghyuck doesn’t know what to say, isn’t sure if he’s supposed to say something into the silence.

‘You can’t tell anyone this. Not even Taeyong knows that Donghyun is Gong Myung. Technically my brother doesn’t exist anymore.’

Donghyuck doesn’t know what to say, not when Doyoung looks at him with that sad, serious expression on his face. He knows that this is important, the words being exchanged between them and he hopes that Doyoung understands that.

'But he's my brother, and he's not a bad person,' Doyoung explains, 'and I know that. He does things that I don't necessarily agree with, but he isn't evil and I know that.'

Donghyuck feels small in the space of the warehouse, fingers curling around his sleeves as he looks out across the distance. He knows it's different, fundamentally, but there's almost a degree of peace to the way Doyoung talks about it. 

'But how do you deal with that, the fact that he could be doing good?'

There’s a moment, when Doyoung pauses. ‘I know where I stand with him, I think that’s why I am able to compartmentalise. I recognise that he’s got his own moral code and he follows it. It doesn’t necessarily match mine, but I am fine with that.’

‘So, you’re saying I should be fine with it if Jaemin _is_ awful.’

‘I’m saying that you need to work out where you stand with him. ’ Doyoung isn’t judgemental as he says it. The words are just calm and his smile reassuring. ‘Cut through the bullshit and work it out. You might not be happier, necessarily, but you'll be less confused.’ 

 Donghyuck exhales. 

‘I wish it were that easy.’

‘It might just be,’ Doyoung reminds him, gently. ‘You're overthinking, just watch him and take some notes. Then work out where you stand with him.’ 

He doesn’t know what to say, just nods quietly in the face of Doyoung’s advice. Doyoung seems satisfied, because he turns on his heel back to the final box that he had inspected. 

He pulls out a bow. 

It’s a recurve bow, white in colour and obviously well cared for. Donghyuck has never seen it before, despite the fact he used to be fascinated by the hero before the man got injured. 

‘This is probably the right size for you,’ Doyoung says, handing it over to Donghyuck. It is lighter than he expected, and Donghyuck feels like he’s holding something impossibly important in his hands. ‘It’s my old bow, from when I was a little bit younger than you.’ 

‘How did you start?’ 

Doyoung gestures for Donghyuck to follow. He leads Donghyuck past the tables to where the space of the warehouse stretches out in front of him. ‘Hyung was the one who learnt first, and I insisted on training once I was old enough to hold a bow. I was good, and by the time I was sixteen we were both preparing for the Olympics.’

‘The _Olympics?_ ’

‘I’m very good at what I do, and I wanted to prove that to the world. It was exhilarating.’

There’s a determination in Doyoung’s brow, something like a smirk and something like pride. He can imagine it, if he’s being honest, Doyoung rising to the top of his field and leaving everyone behind in the dust. And yet, it is clear he never did do that. 

‘What happened to that?’ 

Doyoung lets out a laugh, a genuine one despite the way he shrugs. ‘Turns out you can’t participate in the Olympics when you’re also running after your idiot best friend and making sure he doesn’t hurt himself.’ 

Donghyuck tries not to sound too surprised, when he turns to look at Doyoung. ‘ _Taeyong?’_

‘He’d been training as a sidekick for a while then and was terrible at hiding it from me. So I followed him, bow and all, to make sure he had proper backup?’

‘You dropped everything to make sure Taeyong was safe?’

Doyoung’s smirk drops, into something softer and quieter.  Donghyuck thinks it looks a lot like the smile Jeno gives Renjun, when Renjun isn’t looking. ‘I did.’

The moment hangs, but only briefly, before Doyoung’s smile drops back into an expression of focus. ‘Show me what you know about archery, what you think it is.’ 

Donghyuck squares his shoulders and lifts the bow up, pulling the string of the bow back. Doyoung lets out a sound like a mangled laugh.

‘Okay, we’ve got a lot to work on. _Wow_ ,’ Doyoung shakes his head as he wanders around Donghyuck, ‘gently ease the string back, don’t let go.’

‘Why?’ Donghyuck asks, even as he follows Doyoung’s instructions to the letter and feels the tension ease out of the bow.

‘First lesson,’ Doyoung says, stepping back, ‘if you release the string when there’s no arrow, you’ll break it.’ He takes the bow from Donghyuck’s hands, moving Donghyuck’s shoulders and nudging his stance wider. ‘Second lesson, proper stance.’

 

 

He didn't intend to invite Chenle back to Taeyong's apartment, had just thought they'd find a fast food restaurant and eat shitty burgers. But Taeyong overheard him make the plans and offered the apartment to the pair of them, saying that he'd buy ingredients to Donghyuck could make burgers instead.

'I don't know why I couldn't tell the others where we were going.' Chenle's complaining, but his smile is broad and Donghyuck knows he doesn't mean much by it. 'I mean, I get that you don't want to with your whole _aura of mystery and angst_ that you've got going on.'

'My _what?’_ '

'Oops,' Chenle’s voice doesn’t have a hint of shame to it. 'I wasn't supposed to say anything to you and wait until you're ready to talk to me.'

'Let me guess, Renjun?'

'Jeno, actually. It's fine though,' Chenle says, looking down at Donghyuck and when exactly did this kid become taller than him? 'We all know that you'll talk to us when you're ready. You've never really stewed in your problems, you've always talked to someone about them. So it's probably something that just needs a little more time.'

Chenle is loud and bright and brash. But in the moments when his voice drops, when he becomes serious and kind, it resonates within Donghyuck, cements him to the ground and reminds him that he's not completely alone and not everything is as complicated.

Donghyuck’s back, arms, shoulders, _fingers_ ache, but he can’t help smiling.

'Thanks, kid,' he mutters, nudging Chenle lightly. 'I'll tell you, one day.'

And it doesn't feel like a lie, not when Renjun knows already and the cross between sidekick and student becomes more and more apparent. One day, he thinks, he'll be able to tell Jeno and Chenle and perhaps even Mark. But it won't be any time soon, and it certainly won't be when he's as confused as he is.

'No rush. I'm just glad that we're getting to hang out together.'

'Same,' Donghyuck admits.

He didn't realise just how much he missed being around his friends, in that simple teenage way, until it actually happened. Chenle doesn’t press his questions, and it allows Donghyuck to not worry. There’re no half-glances at Jaemin and Mark, no reassurances that he’s fine to Renjun. It is just him and Chenle and the promise of computer games, the promise of things being _normal._

‘I can’t believe that you’ve been living here for weeks and you’ve never invited any of us back,’ Chenle says, as Donghyuck unlocks the front door. ‘If my parents moved to Seoul, I’d be inviting you guys around all the time.’

‘Well there are a lot of us, and Taeyong’s apartment isn’t big,’ Donghyuck says. He kicks his shoes off before dropping his bag in the corner, out of the way. ‘Not to mention, I’m just staying here it’s not like it’s my home or anything. I didn’t really want to bring people over if it made him uncomfortable having more people in his space.’

‘I mean, I guess,’ Chenle looks dubious as he investigates the large living room and kitchen. ‘But if you don’t feel at home here, why don’t you move back into the dorms? It’s not like someone else is staying in your room right now.’

Donghyuck shrugs. ‘I just don’t really want to go back just yet.’

Chenle looks at him, eyes discerning and sharp before he nods and just… lets it go. Donghyuck doesn’t realise how much he appreciates it until Chenle moves the conversation along, and only just resists the urge to give the younger boy a hug.

For all that he is loud and full of laughter, Chenle’s always been quiet at the right moments in between.

‘I borrowed a couple of things from Taeyong’s friends,’ Donghyuck says, pointing to the game systems that he had begged off Yuta and Hansol the night before, ‘but I’ve no idea how to set them up so you’re going to have to do it.’

Chenle levels him with an expression that Donghyuck can only describe as unimpressed.

‘You’re like a year and a bit older than me, how are you _such_ a dinosaur when it comes to technology? Only Mark’s worse than you.’

‘I’m not a dinosaur, I just don’t learn the stuff that isn’t useful to me,’ Donghyuck sniffs in a deliberate show of being annoying, ‘and that includes hooking up a game system to the TV.’

Chenle rolls his eyes again, even if he drapes himself over the back of the television in an attempt to decipher the cables on the back of the screen. Donghyuck instead uses the time to duck into Taeyong’s bedroom and change out of his school uniform.

He can hear Chenle’s complaining and only barks out a laugh as he drops his uniform into the laundry basket that Taeyong forgets about most days. They’re going to have to make a trip to the laundromat sometime in the next few days. Or rather Donghyuck will have to make a trip to the laundromat, because he never knows what Taeyong does these days and Jisung would probably break the laundromat on his own.

Donghyuck casts a quick look at the door to check that Chenle is still distracted, before gingerly picking through the laundry basket. His sidekick outfits are in a pile, as well as his favourite jumper and his school uniform. Theoretically he could push all of them for another day or two before someone (Renjun) scolded him for it, but sometimes people (Renjun) are scarier than supervillains and he didn’t want to face their (Renjun’s) wrath.

He’s debating the benefits of doing his laundry himself when he realises that Chenle has gone quiet. Very quiet.

‘Lele?’

He pokes his head out of Taeyong’s bedroom door.

Chenle is standing in front of the television holding two controllers, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. Donghyuck follows his line of sight to where Jisung is...

... wielding Donghyuck’s good cooking knife.

‘What the _hell_ are you doing? Jisung, this is not how normal people greet guests. Put the knife down.’

Jisung doesn’t put the knife down.

‘I need this to julienne carrots, it’s the only good knife we’ve got left in the kitchen,’ Donghyuck groans as he walks over to try and remove the knife from Jisung’s grip. ‘All the other ones have disappeared from the knife block the past few weeks.’ His eyes narrow. ‘You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?’

‘No?’

‘Give me the knife,’ Donghyuck hisses, taking it and running it under the water. Of _course_ Jisung took their knives to use for superhero business instead of food business, they were perfectly weighted and extremely sharp. Donghyuck had _loved_ those knives. ‘Don’t you dare touch this again,’ he says, sliding it back into the knife block. ‘Why were you even pointing it at Chenle in the first place.’

‘There was a stranger in the apartment,’ Jisung says. ‘I needed to defend myself.’

Logically, Donghyuck knows that this is how Jisung has been trained, that the boy doesn’t know any better. But Chenle is harmless and his friend definitely looks more than a bit frightened from where he’s shielding himself with the PlayStation controllers.

‘I told you that we were having people over today, my shoes are literally right next to his at the door. You know better than to jump to conclusions like this,’ Donghyuck hisses, leaning in close so that Chenle can’t hear him. ‘You’re more observant than that, and we _both_ know it.’

‘I forgot.’

Donghyuck exhales, stepping back. ‘Chenle, this is my cousin Jisung. He is _very_ sorry that he pointed a knife at you. Jisung, this is one of my friends from school, Chenle.’

Jisung looks at Chenle and gives a half wave. Donghyuck would almost dare to say that Jisung looks sheepish, but he’s not entirely sure that Jisung knows what that emotion is.  ‘Sorry, about the whole knife thing.’

‘Is this not a safe neighbourhood or something?’ Chenle drops the controllers down onto the couch as he walks closer. Despite his words, his smile is growing across his face as he steps closer to Jisung and Donghyuck. ‘Donghyuck, do I need to teach you how to fight?’

‘No, you really don’t,’ Donghyuck tries not to choke on laughter as he imagines sweet little Chenle teaching him how to fight. It’s about as believable as Jeno teaching him how to fight. ‘It’s fine, Jisung’s just a little on edge about these things. He doesn’t get out much.’

Chenle clearly doesn’t believe Donghyuck, from the dubious look on his face, but he doesn’t look afraid anymore.

‘So, _Jisung_ ,’ Chenle leans in close, and Donghyuck can’t help the snort of amusement that rises up as Jisung backs up slightly under Chenle’s curious gaze, ‘Donghyuck was telling me that you don’t really know anyone in the city, since you moved out.’

‘That’s… right…’  Jisung’s wide drift to Donghyuck’s for a moment before he looks back at Chenle. He swallows, and Donghyuck resists laughing again at the sight of how lost the boy was.

The assured and careful sidekick had been stripped away and in its place is a kid who doesn’t know how to talk to other people. Donghyuck can’t help but wonder when was the last time Jisung talked to someone his own age, when was the last time he lived his life beyond that of the sidekick that he was so proud of being.

‘Well, I suppose I’ll try being your friend,’ Chenle says with a click of his tongue, ‘but only if you promise not to point a knife at me again. That was really weird, like _really_ weird.’

‘I’ll try not to,’ Jisung says.

Chenle’s face splits into a large grin. ‘Then it sounds like we can put it behind us and play some games. Donghyuck’s _awful_ at it, so you’re better of playing with me if you want to live.’ He doesn’t even give Jisung time to protest, dragging the other boy across the room.

Donghyuck doesn’t even bother protesting, just lets out a laugh throws himself down onto the couch as Chenle sets up a game for them to play together. It’s the closest he’s felt to normal in weeks.

 

 

Donghyuck doesn’t realise how close the school festival is, until he turns up for the meeting with a plan to paint more Styrofoam, and finds Mark standing at the front of their small crowd of volunteers. He’s grinning, broad and bright as he looks across the group of students, and it makes Donghyuck wrinkle his nose as he slides into place next to Renjun. 

‘What’s going on?’

‘Mark’s doing his wrap up speech,’ Renjun says, clasping his hands together in his lap, ‘like he did anything more than stand there and look pretty.’

The words are light and teasing, a small smirk pulling at the corner of Renjun’s lips as he looks at where Mark and Yeri are standing proudly.

'I'm sure he helped,' Jeno says from the other side of Renjun, looking across from them. 'I mean he did organise this whole thing, didn't he?'

'He got put on supervisor duty after he first spilt paint all over one of the plans. Since then, Yeri's been giving him useless jobs to make him feel important. She didn't want him to mess anything up. I don't think he argued because he felt really guilty.'

Donghyuck hadn't even realised that it was a thing, but looking back he had seen Mark wander from person to person without actually touching anything. Occasionally he had helped Donghyuck paint a few boards and pieces of styrofoam black, but even then, he'd had someone hovering a few steps away with their eye on him. 

'Hang on, I've been doing the same things that Mark's been doing,' Donghyuck looks up at Renjun, eyes narrowed. 'Huang Renjun, have you put me on easy jobs so I don't mess anything up?'

Renjun coughs, looking away, and Jeno bursts into sniggers that has Donghyuck reaching around and hitting him in the stomach. 

'Thanks for that,' Donghyuck mutters, 'just waste all my lunchtimes, why don't I?'

'Look at it this way,' Renjun suggests, 'you got to spend all your time with your bestest ever friend in the world.'

It's almost sickly when Renjun says it, but Donghyuck can't help letting out a laugh of agreement. 'I guess that's pretty true. Even if my bestest ever friend thinks that I'm a disaster who can only be trusted with black paint and styrofoam boards.'

'I trust you with more than that,' Jaemin says. 

Donghyuck jumps.  

'He was talking about _me_ , Nana,' Renjun says with a sunny smile. 'I'm his bestest ever friend now.'

He hadn't even noticed Jaemin come into the room. The taller boy looks confused, brow furrowed as he looks between Donghyuck and Renjun. Donghyuck can't help but notice the way the confusion darkens for a moment, an unhappy expression settling over his face. It's only for a split second, but enough for a chill to work up Donghyuck's spine. Jaemin wipes the expression off his face, replacing it with a smile. The smile reminds Donghyuck of the potential of what Jaemin could be at the end of this mess. 

'Well, I better do my best to regain my spot.' Jaemin slides into the space next to Donghyuck, throwing an arm around his shoulder. 'I'm not going to lose to the likes of you, Huang.'

Renjun's about to bite back a response, when Jeno hisses _Mark's starting now, be quiet_ into the space between them as he looks ahead at where Mark is standing. He gives Mark a thumbs up, and Donghyuck can't help but think that Jeno is the best of the four of them. 

'Hi everyone.' Mark gives a single wave. 'I just want to thank you all, for the last couple of weeks. Because of you guys we were able to put together everything we needed for the school festival this weekend without any major hiccups.' 

Even with his awkward smile, most of the group are looking at Mark. Donghyuck would dare to say that it's endearing, and that's why so much of their year levels are in front of him. Not for the first time, Donghyuck can't help but think that Mark would have been a great superhero leader if not for the fact that he was so easily biased by friends. 

'As we all know, we have two days until the school festival is due to start. Our project was one of the bigger ones, and I've been told that we get to use most of the classrooms on the second floor for the haunted house. Thanks to Chenle, we've got an idea of what we want to do and the order that things are going to go. All we need to do is make sure that everything is hung up and ready by the end of the day so that we're good to go on Saturday Morning.

'In order to get this done, we're going to have to split you all into teams and give everyone a room to work on. It shouldn't be too hard, but coming in tomorrow to get everything done is an absolute last resort.' 

A murmuring of agreement spreads throughout the art room. Donghyuck is one of them, it's been a while since they had a day off from school and he's not coming in specially to get things set up unless he absolutely has to. It's going to be the first time in weeks that he's had time to himself, no school work or hero work to think of. 

'Yeri's going to divide everyone up into teams and then we should be good to go. Again, thank you so much to everyone here for making this a really enjoyable experience and I hope that everyone has a good time at the school festival this weekend.'

A smattering of half-hearted applause spreads through the room as Mark steps away from the front desk to let Yeri start reading out names from a list. Mark edges through the crowd back to where they're all sitting in the corner of the room. 

'How'd I go?' he asks.

'You didn't fuck up,' Renjun clasps a hand on his shoulder, 'and that's what is important.' 

'Thanks,' Mark says, dry as bone as Renjun grins at him. 'We're a team, by the way. Chenle's already waiting for us in room 203. We should probably get down there before the power of laying this out gets to his head.'

They're all quick to agree, remembering Chenle's giggles as he worked his way through the map of the school the week prior. He'd been having too much fun in planning everything, especially when they told him he got to cast the ghosts and monsters that would pop out of the haunted house. 

'No-one thinks this is actually going to be scary, right?' Jaemin asks as they troop out of the classroom, Yeri still shouting out groups to the remaining students. 'I mean, how scary can our school actually be?'

'Try to pretend that you might be a little bit scared, at least,' Donghyuck says, shrugging his bag higher up on his shoulder. 'After all, not everything is as sweet and innocent as it likes to appear, am I right?' 

For once it doesn't sound like a jab. It does, however, sound that bit tired and it earns Donghyuck a concerned look from Jaemin as they make their way down the stairs. 

Donghyuck can't be bothered being petty right now, though, too overwhelmed by the facts and thoughts that are starting to pile up within him. 

He, Mark and Jaemin have yet to organise a time for them to go through the files that Taeil had given them about the teams of criminals that have been moving the plants. Donghyuck's sure it's as much reluctance on their side as it is his, because he knows that the pair of them have as little going on in their lives as he has in his, outside of patrol. 

Donghyuck is fine with it, if he's honest. With Doyoung's words bouncing through his head, he knows that he needs to sort out where he stands with the other two before he moves forward. He's tired of feeling stretched tight, he's tired of arguing, of being _scared_. Even the phone at the bottom of his bag, with the text from Jaemin that he should never have received, is starting to get more a dulled resignation than actual worry and Donghyuck knows that he needs to sort it out. 

'Let's just hope that we all actually do a good job of this, it's Mark's last school festival and it's the last one we'll probably be able to do together.'

'You make it sound like I'm going to university across the globe,' Mark snorts. 

'Well, you might want to go back to Canada for university or something,' Jeno points out. 'You've never really talked about what you want to do next, so how are we supposed to know?'

'Back to Ca-,' Mark sounds confused for a moment before realisation dawns in his eyes. 'No, no I'm not going back to, uh, Canada. I'm staying in Seoul, at least I hope I am.'

'Are you guys talking about old people stuff again,' Chenle pokes his head out of the classroom. 'We've got more important things than your future to talk about. Namely how to make people shit their pants on Saturday.'

'We don't want people to shit their pants,' Mark says, even as Renjun's smile sharpens into something that Donghyuck might have thought to be more natural on a supervillain's face. 'We just want people to be a little scared.'

'You are kidding, right?' Chenle snorts out. 'I want people screaming, I want people crying. I want people frozen in place. It's going to be such an amazing day, just wait for it.'

Donghyuck shakes his head as he walks into the classroom. It's been emptied, stripped of the desks and chairs and just a shell of what it once was. All the decorations that have been assigned to the room have been stacked in a corner, along with a massive pile of black material that Donghyuck guesses is to block out most of the room. 

'We also get 303 as sort of a prep room,' Mark explains, pulling the foam sheets out. 'It's more for where the kids dressed up can leave their clothes, but we can also keep some things up there if we want to change the set halfway through or anything.'

'We are _not_ changing the set halfway through, you are such an overachiever,' Jaemin groans. 'We're just going to have a good time, and we're going to leave it. Now can we please get this out of the way? Chenle, what was the theme that you were going for with this room.'

Chenle grins, 'Zombies.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the delay folks, hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> next chapter we get to see the boys hanging out at the festival, and the result of their hard work


End file.
